Wayward
by Jade Author
Summary: Sam and Dean fight the supernatural, so they're used to strange things; but a young woman destined to hold the King of Hell is something a little more out of the ordinary than their usual quarry. Jolene Murphy could kill them, or she couldn't: it's one of the simplest stories of all time; but if they're not careful it'll be the last.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N.- And I'm back again with a new story in a new fandom. I've hit Sherlock, Jurassic Park, FMA, and now I'm ready for SPN. Oh boy. Let's start this off first: I know I won't be able to match with the writers of SPN, but I'm going to do my best to try. Please let me know if I get a detail wrong or someone gets too OOC so I can check if I meant to write it that way on purpose.**

 **Be prepared for a** _ **very**_ **skewed plotline. It will vaguely follow/ mimic the show, but then it might jump off a cliff into fandom hell. Anyway, here goes nothing.**

 **Enjoy!**

Wayward, Ch. 1

"So. A demon."

"No, Dean. A luwaloola, they're not like demons. They still hate salt but their eyes don't turn black."

"Yeah yeah, and less 'eye activity', whatever that means. Got it." The man clapped his companion on the shoulder, ignoring the difference in height. He pulled a sawed-off shotgun from the trunk of a black 67 Impala and flipped it in his hands nonchalantly.

"What do you say, Sam?" He asked, jerking his head towards the greasy diner they'd parked at. "Let's go hunt some monsters." He started through the parking lot to the front doors and almost had his hand on the handle when his brother called him back.

"Dean!" Sam said. "You can't just walk into a diner with a shotgun. Have some class." Dean huffed and exchanged the gun for a pack of table salt. He waved it mockingly in Sam's face and pocketed it.

"Alright, we'll do it your way." He conceded sassily.

The diner wasn't completely empty, but it wasn't bustling with patrons, either. A fair number of people dotted the seats in the booths or along the soda counter.

"Hello! Just seat yourselves anywhere you'd like." A perky waitress chirped. Sam and Dean scanned the diner completely before sliding into an empty booth and sitting across from each other.

"See anyone?" Sam asked lowly. Dean frowned and reached for a laminated menu.

"No, not yet. What do you think about ordering some pie?" He asked. Sam shook his head in disagreement and kept throwing discreet looks at the staff and customers. The waitress took their drink orders and swept away, and Sam was just beginning to get interested in the menu when things went wrong.

"Sammy, over your shoulder." Dean murmured, nodding his head towards the back of the restaurant. Sam turned nonchalantly to the side and made a show of looking at the flavors of ice cream written on a chalkboard but discreetly scanned the booths behind him out of the corner of his eye.

There were four booths leading to the back wall. Two were empty, and one held a giggly high school couple flirting with each other all the way by the back. The booth between the couple and the empty booth held one woman. She had a cup of coffee in front of her and a menu splayed on the table. She traced her finger over the menu and frowned, then slid her hand across the table top until it found her coffee cup.

Her eyes stared blankly ahead of her the whole time.

"Is that our monster?" Sam asked. Dean shrugged.

"Only one way to find out." He said, "Your time to shine, go chat her up." Sam gave him a venomous look before he slid out of the booth and walked to the woman's table.

"Can I join you?" He asked, noting how her head was cocked towards him.

"Uh sure." She said after a moment of hesitation. Sam could feel his brother's eyes on his back as he took a seat across from the woman. There was something strange about the way she looked at him, it made him uncomfortable and edgy. She'd look right at him, but Sam felt like she was looking _through_ him, instead.

"So… do you come here often?" He asked. The woman laughed.

"Out of all the lousy pick-up lines you chose that one?" She asked.

"It wasn't a pick up line." Sam answered curtly. The woman made a disbelieving noise and smiled, throwing a blank look to the menu on the table. Her eyes flickered shut and then opened again, Sam frowned and Dean coughed loudly and pointedly.

"Are you all done with your coffee, Miss?" The perky waitress asked.

"Yes I am, thank you." The woman said. The waitress took the nearly full cup of coffee and whisked it away to the kitchen. Dean slid into the booth beside Sam, pushing his brother over a little bit.

"Hey," He said. The woman tilted her head and gave him the same unfocused look she'd given Sam.

"And they've multiplied." She said. "Am I surrounded?"

"That sure seems to be the case." Dean answered courteously, although his face belied his tone. Sam slowly reached for the container of salt on the table and slid it between his hands on the table absentmindedly. Dean watched the salt shaker slide back and forth twice before he misunderstood the signal,

 _This is our monster._

Dean nodded and pulled the packet of salt from his pocket. The woman tilted her head when the wrapper made a crinkling sound and frowned.

"What's that?"

"Sorry princess." Dean said, tearing open the packet and tossing the contents across the table and onto the woman. She started when the salt made contact with her skin but didn't start screaming or smoking like normal monsters. The woman scraped up a sample of the salt and rubbed it between her fingers. She looked between the both of them with obvious disdain. Her lip curled and Sam leaned over to Dean.

"She blinked when we threw the salt." He whispered, "When she flinched."

"Are you _kidding_ me?" The woman said. "I _can't_ believe that you'd just-"

"Is everything okay here, Miss?" The waitress asked, but her smile was replaced with a frown.

"No, it's not. These two men threw salt on me for no reason at all." The woman snapped. She turned and glared at the waitress, but still had the same glazed look in her eyes. The waitress stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, would you like me to escort them out?" She asked.

"Yes. Please." Dean threw Sam an awkward sideways glance.

"Yeah we found our monster alright." He muttered. "Shit." The waitress's eyes narrowed and a guttural hiss ripped from her throat. Her fingers elongated into claws and her jaw stretched outwards and downwards. The other customers and staff in the diner screamed and bolted from their seats, and the waitress did nothing to stop them. The woman made no move to flee, her eyes were wide and unmoving, and Sam guessed that if he had to run past a shapeshifting diner waitress to get to the door he'd stay still, too.

"What are you waiting for, lady? Move!" Dean barked as he sprang from the booth and lunged for the salt shaker on the table.

"Sam run for the shotgun!" He shouted. Sam jumped from the booth and did his best to sprint to the door; but the waitress's claws clamped onto his shoulders and threw him backwards. The claws sank through his jacket and pricked his skin, but the waitress let him go when Dean flung the open container of table salt at the waitress.

"Go Sam!" He shouted as the luwaloola turned on him. He slid his feet apart and raised his hands to his face. The next table with a salt shaker was too far away, so he was prepared to make a stand. The monster hissed and sprang forward with too much strength for just the petite waitress's body. The luwaloola was heavier than it looked, too. It hit Dean with the force of a bodybuilder and knocked him to the ground. His head cracked against the linoleum floor and his vision jarred for a second, but he still had enough wits about himself to fit the luwaloola's throat between his thumb and forefinger and lock his elbows to hold the monster at bay. Out of the corner of his eye Dean could see the woman he'd mistakenly thrown salt at cowering under the table with her hands over her head and her eyes tightly shut. The luwaloola's hand reached around and snagged Dean's throat. The claws couldn't slice his neck open, but the creature could still apply enough pressure to leave him breathless with the part of its hand that wasn't made of razor sharp claws.

"Lady go! Get out!" He choked, but she shook her head furiously and hunkered down even further. A loud shotgun blast made her shriek as the luwaloola disintegrated on top of Dean, leaving him covered in powdery ash. Sam pumped the shotgun in his arms again for good measure, then dropped it to help his brother up.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," Dean answered hoarsely, "A little wheezy but I'm fine." He strode back to the booth they'd originally been seated in to pick up his belongings and then grabbed the shotgun. Sam peered underneath the second booth.

"You can come out now." He said. The woman opened her eyes and froze, making Sam uncomfortable with her distant gaze. She looked like she was listening for something.

"Sam come on. The police can deal with her; we don't have time to make friends under diner tables." Dean said, slinging his jacket over his shoulder and scowling.

"Dean I think she's blind." Sam said quietly.

"I am." The woman said from under the table. "Go away; I'll come out when everything's quiet."

"That's our cue Sammy, let's go." Dean said insistently. "The police will be out here soon, and I'm not playing FBI Agent White today." Sam reached under the table and gently touched the woman's shoulder, but she shoved his hand away.

"What did you do?" She asked shakily, "Where is everyone?"

"The luwaloola is dead." Dean said impatiently, "Everyone else ran for the hills."

"The what?" Sam sighed.

"A monster." He explained. "We hunt them for a living." Dean threw his hands up and groaned.

"Way to drop the ball, Sammy. Go ahead and tell all, why don't you?" He said sarcastically. A soft grinding sound slid through the diner like a whisper; Sam and Dean didn't hear it, but the woman did.

"What was that?" She asked, her voice rising higher with every word.

"There's nothing there." Dean said, getting more anxious to leave by the second.

"No I _heard_ it. Something is there!" She protested. The dust the luwaloola had deposited onto Dean fluttered to the ground and began to solidify. Dean saw the monster out of the corner of his eye and swung the shotgun around to deliver another shot, but the monster caught the barrel of the gun and wrenched it from his hands.

"Sam! We're gonna need holy water for this one!" Dean said, taking a large step backwards to avoid a swipe from the luwaloola's claws.

"Sam!" He repeated. Dean ducked under another the claws and tacked the monster around the legs. It lashed out as they toppled backwards and sliced cleanly through Dean's jacket, but didn't hit his skin.

"Stay here." Sam told the woman, not checking to see if she listened before he snatched a glass of what he hoped was water and upended a salt shaker into it to buy time. He tossed the drink onto the luwaloola and onto Dean. His brother spluttered.

"This is Sprite mixed with salt, Sam!"

Sam ignored him.

The luwaloola stumbled backwards as its face steamed from the soda and salt cocktail. The distraction gave Sam enough time to grab Dean's fallen jacket, pull a small silver flask of holy water out, and splash it onto the monster. The luwaloola shrieked and recoiled, so he doused it again. On the third go the luwaloola gave a guttural hiss and dissolved into a puddle of soggy ashes. Dean scuffed his foot through the sludgy remains to scatter the monster for good.

"So it was a Jesus juice monster." He mused, "I thought the holy water applied to demons."

"That's a good question for Bobby." Sam said, returning to the woman under the table.

"Can we take you somewhere safe?" He asked her. "We can't leave you hunched under a table." She leaned away from him.

"No."

"What if we promise to explain to you?" Sam urged, "You're probably curious."

"Sam does it really _matter_?" Dean complained, grabbing his jacket and shaking it violently to free it of any ashes.

"A little bit." Sam retorted, he stood up with a sigh and backed away from the table in defeat; and the woman came crawling out. She used the edge of the table to hoist herself up and steady herself, and she directed her gaze somewhere past Sam and Dean's shoulders.

She wasn't very tall, and she looked pretty unimpressive dressed in a purple shirt with jeans and tennis shoes. She had dark hair and light brown skin capped off by pleasant but unfocused brown eyes. Dean noticed that she kept her feet planted firmly apart like for balance and inclined her head towards the biggest noise in the room, which was him and Sam.

The woman brushed herself off and tucked her hair behind her ear, then pulled a white collapsible sight cane from the booth behind her. She flicked it expertly so it elongated until it tapped the floor; making sure to keep her stick between her and the two strangers. Sam glanced at Dean and ignored the impatient look his brother gave him.

"I'm Sam Winchester, and this is Dean. We're-"

"Brothers, I know. I heard you talking to each other. What are your real names?" She asked cautiously.

"He told you. We're the Winchesters." Dean said gruffly. She made a disbelieving noise.

"No you're not. Those are book characters. Are you serial killers or something?" She asked. Dean's eyes reached for the ceiling out of exasperation.

"Don't tell me you've read the Supernatural books." He complained. The woman didn't answer him, she tapped her stick ahead of her pointedly and ducked past them with surprising accuracy.

"Aliases or not. Stay away from me." She said quickly, sidling to the door but keeping her head partially cocked in the Winchesters' direction. She knocked the front door to the diner open with her hip and pulled out a phone from her pocket.

"Wake up." She said into the screen. The device beeped to life.

 _"Hello, Jolene."_ A mechanical voice said. _"Request?"_

"Dial 911." She said.

"Look- Jolene. Don't call the police." Dean warned her, noting how her head turned to him when he successfully said her name. "It's not gonna be pretty and I bet they're already on their way." He was grateful that she couldn't recognize his and Sam's faces from the various wanted posters they'd acquired as they traveled the country. It kept her from panicking and trying to beat them both with her sight cane.

"Look, that monster was real. We hunt them for a living to keep people safe." Sam interceded, trying to convince Jolene to pocket her phone.

"So you're deranged." She concluded. "I'll tell the operator." Dean stepped forward and she immediately backed away through the door.

"I said stay away from me." Jolene repeated forcefully. She hesitated before executing the call, standing awkwardly with the number waiting on her phone and one foot still inside the diner.

"And you threw salt on me because-?" She asked. Dean closed his eyes and Sam fought the urge to groan.

"It's standard. Salt, holy water, iron, crosses-"

"Kept in the back of a black 67 Impala, I'll bet."

"Yeah, actually." Dean snapped. "Leave the car out of it." Jolene blinked, stuck between running to safety and calling the police and the curious urge to interrogate the men in front of her. A siren tinged the air and slowly grew louder as its source grew nearer. Dean pressed his lips together.

"Great. Sam, let's go. We don't have time for this." He said shortly. His brother nodded, and they quickly gathered their things and moved towards the door. Jolene quickly moved aside to let them pass, leaning away when they walked too close. The siren multiplied and grew even louder. Jolene could estimate that the police were only a few streets away, at best.

She could hear the doors of a car opening and slamming, and what sounded like a trunk opening as Sam and Dean stowed their weapons. The sirens grew even louder until they were almost deafening, and Jolene didn't hear Sam step up beside her until he said "come with me" and grabbed her arm. She dropped her cane and struggled, trying to aim a good punch or blow at his face or even his groin, but he gently pushed her across the parking lot until she tripped and stumbled into the backseat of a car. The door slammed behind her and she instinctively kicked to try and break one of the windows.

"Hey! Sit down and buckle up." Dean growled at her. "And stop kicking my car." The vehicle sprang forward, making Jolene roll against the backseat as the car sped along the road. She could tell that they were driving away from the sirens by the way the harsh noises faded away. She wondered briefly if she could throw the door open roll out, and make it to the bus stop she frequented that was only a little ways away from the diner.

Dean's furious driving speed quelled that idea quickly.

It only took a few minutes before he pulled the car into a parking lot and gently- almost lovingly- put it in park.

"You didn't have to go that fast." Sam said, checking the backseat and the road outside of the parking lot. "They wouldn't have caught up with us."

"Damn right." Dean answered, spinning around to look at Jolene in the backseat.

"Thanks for riding with Winchester Airlines, please stay seated and listen to my brother for a minute before you run away." He said in a nasally imitation of a flight attendant.

"Let me out." Jolene demanded. "Now." She slid her hands across the door to try and find the lock.

"Johanna," Sam said.

"Jolene."

"I'm sorry I grabbed you. We just couldn't let you talk to the police." He said. "Normally there aren't any civilians around when we hunt, and if you told the police what happened they'd institutionalize you, so this is a rarity."

"Consider yourself a VIP." Dean intoned with a small grin. Sam gave him a pained look and turned back to Jolene. She found the car lock and pulled it up, then kicked the door open and ran.

"Hey!" Dean was out of the car before she'd even taken a few steps. "Jolene wait!" He shouted. She stopped when she was halfway across the parking lot, and from the sound of his voice she could tell that he hadn't even made any effort to follow her.

"Look, if you'd slow down and listen it'd be much appreciated." He called. "We're not going to hurt you, we just needed to get you away from the police and explain a little bit of stuff so if you are interrogated you don't get us in trouble or get yourself committed to the nuthouse." Jolene frowned, and Dean looked back at Sam before he continued.

"But you know, shouting life stories across a parking lot doesn't count as bonding. If you'd come back that'd be great." He said, stepping back towards the car and Sam. Jolene weighed the situation, then slowly crept back towards the brothers. She kept a safe distance from them, but folded her arms and waited.

"So let's start over again. I'm Sam, and this is my brother, Dean. I wanted to be a lawyer, he drives an Impala, and we hunt monsters for a living." Sam reiterated. Jolene kept her arms crossed and still maintained a healthy distance.

"I'm Jolene Murphy. I'm a librarian for a living." She said finally. Dean looked to his brother and wriggled his eyebrows, but Sam ignored him.

"So you've read the Supernatural books?" Sam asked.

"Do I look like I read books?" Jolene deadpanned. He made a panicked sound and rubbed his arm.

"No, sorry. I meant do you-"

"It's fine," Jolene interrupted him. "I listened to them on audio. Some of my friends recommended them to me so I got through the first couple."

"How many did you get through?" Dean asked.

"Wendigo." His face twitched in disgust.

"Ugh, Wendigo."

"Yeah, then I kind of dropped it." She said. Sam shrugged, but winced when he realized she couldn't see it.

"I wouldn't blame you. For a little while things got ridiculous." He conceded.

"But hey, you know our whole backstory; so there's no need to spew it back up and rehash old times." Dean said, giving a sarcastic thumbs up. "That's half the convo finished, damn we're on a roll!"

"You really expect me to believe the whole killing monsters part? For all I know you could be just really dedicated fans to a crap fandom." Jolene said, "Maybe you were doing some elaborate roleplay at the diner. I don't- I don't know!" She added out of frustration.

"Hey, respect the books." Dean said, "Those are pretty much documentations of our lives."

"We can't really offer you any proof without hunting another monster." Sam said, "And between you and me I don't really want to right now."

"But we can promise you that things _do_ go bump in the night and that there _are_ things like angels, demons, and ghosts et-cetera, et-cetera." Dean smiled tightly at Jolene's confused expression. "Yeah, sleep tight."

"Take me back into town." She said after a moment of silence. Sam regarded her for a second.

"You're not going to tell the police or cause any trouble?" She laughed once.

"They wouldn't believe me, _I_ don't even believe you all the way. And it's not like I can see and memorize your car's plates." She waved her hand in front of her face for emphasis. Sam looked to Dean, who leaned on the cab of the Impala and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Yeah, we'll take you back into town." He conceded when Sam didn't provide an immediate answer. He drummed his hands on the cab roof before climbing back into his car. Sam waited for Jolene to walk all the way back over to him and then opened the door to the front seat for her. When she got closer he could hear her making high pitched clicking noises, almost like creaks, as she approached. She maneuvered very dexterously around him and opened the door to the backseat and climbed in. Sam climbed in the front and Dean put the Impala into gear.

"Hey, those clicking noises you were making- what were they?" Sam asked. Jolene leaned forward to "look" at him.

"Echolocation." She said simply.

"What, you mean like bats?" Dean asked. Jolene shrugged and leaned back in her seat.

"Kind of, but for human ears. Only a few blind people can do it properly, but you make high pitched clicks or squeaks to navigate around and listen for the echo. It was pioneered by a guy named Daniel Kush or something like that." She explained. "I use it along with my cane and my speech program on my phone." Dean made an amused humming noise in the back of his throat.

"So how long have you _been_ blind? –If you don't mind me asking." He said. Sam gave him an appalled look and Jolene scratched her neck.

"Since birth. No tragic explosions or chemicals in my eyes. No superhero story. Ever since I can remember I've been seeing gray." She said.

"Gray?" Sam asked, "I thought you just saw plain black." Jolene barked a laugh.

"No way, I see gray. And sometimes those colorful spots you guys sometimes see when you close your eyes. I'm not trapped in the dark." She answered.

"Poetic and touching." Dean observed, "We're back in town." He pulled to a stop in front of the public library and put the Impala into park. "Nice meeting you, Miss Mursey-"

"Murphy."

"Yeah, and maybe if you're lucky you'll never have to see the likes of us again." He finished, chuckling a little at his unintentional joke while Sam groaned. Jolene rolled her eyes and left the car. After a second of hesitation she spun back around to face the Winchesters.

"Thank you for saving my life in the diner," She said, "And thanks for the ride back into town." Dean gave her a two-fingered salute from his temple and Sam grinned before they both opted for verbal responses.

"Sure thing."

"No problem."

"And in the unlikely event you guys ever stop by Ellington again, feel free to." Jolene added. "We have books galore on supernatural stuff and things you'd probably find fascinating."

"You never want to see us again, believe-you-me." Dean said before turning up the Impala's radio to blare old classic rock while he pulled away from the curb. Jolene took a second to orient herself using the sound of the library's air conditioning unit and then set off for the bus stop that would take her home.

 **A.N.- Well, it kind of petered off into obscurity at the end; (apologies for that) BUT I have this whole thing under control. (Just kidding I have no idea what I'm doing this is literally going to be pieced together from small bits I've written. Help me God.) Reviews, help, criticism, advice (especially for something as big as SPN) is welcome!**

 **Thank you.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N.- This story was supposed to be on hold, but a guest named "Lizzy" said I should update because it was good, so here's another half-assed chapter. I'm sorry it kind of lags a bit and please let me know if anyone is OOC because I feel that they already are and it's only the second chapter JFC.**

 **miXiz- I didn't catch that! Thank you so very much for noticing. I went back and fixed it.**

 **Lizzy- I wouldn't go that far when complimenting it, I'm not feeling as into this story as my other ones but I'll try to keep it upbeat and as good as my other stories. You made me post an update, be proud.**

 **Enjoy!**

Wayward, Ch. 2

 _One Month Later:_

It was a slow day. The library was nearly quiet, except for the occasional whispers of patrons and the sound of book pages turning. Jolene sat behind the librarian's desk with her hands folded. She had an earbud lodged in one ear that played an audiobook quietly while she stayed attuned to the ambient white noise the library's everyday activities made.

"Hi, Miss Murphy!" A voice sang. Jolene instinctively shushed the offender, then offered them a smile.

"Hi, Alex. Did you finish the books already?" She asked. She could hear the girl exhale quickly as she grinned and hefted a short stack of portly books onto the library counter. Jolene swept the first book into her hands and flipped it open expertly. Her fingers found the little plastic card glued onto the back cover and guided it underneath the scanner to her left. The scanner beeped softly and a computerized voice read off the book's title and confirmed that it was returned before its due date. Jolene quickly scanned Alex's other books back into the system and placed them in a basket behind her for one of the assistant librarians to put back.

"Do you have any new ones to check out?" She asked. Alex dropped another stack of books onto the counter.

"Can methane hold heat better than CO2?" Alex responded cheekily. Jolene resisted the urge to roll her eyes and shrugged at the seventh grader,

"You'd know more than I would." She said, quickly and efficiently checking out Alex's new cache of books and passing them back across the counter. The girl thanked her and spirited away into a corner to read. Jolene turned back to her audio book and waited for another person to approach her and hand her another stack of books.

"Evening." A man said. His voice was unfamiliar and seemed to have a lilting accent. Jolene tilted her head and tried to place the new voice, but couldn't.

"You're new." She said absently, taking the book he pushed across the counter and thumbing to the back cover. She slid the book under the scanner and waited patiently for the program to recognize the book's barcode.

 _"Edlund, Carver. Supernatural: Book Seven. Due back August 28."_ The system read out. Jolene cocked her head at the title as she handed the book back to the man.

"You've got a sour look, what do you have against the _Supernatural_ books?" The man asked pleasantly. "Have you read them?"

"I don't have anything against them. I read the first few, but that life's not really for me." She offered the man a smile.

"What do you think of the Winchesters' adventures?" He asked. "I'm preparing for a book club discussion later this week on the series." Jolene hid her frown behind her hand as she leaned on the counter, always eager to discuss a series with someone.

"They're hectic," She said, "And everything happens quickly. Almost _too_ quickly, you know?" She shrugged. "But then again, I'd want that kind of stuff to be over with in an instant." The man murmured his agreement, thanked her for her opinion, and retreated into the background murmur of the library.

It was another hour before anything remotely exciting happened.

The library was almost empty, except for a few late-afternoon stragglers. Jolene heard a few more people enter the library and decided to keep listening to her audio book instead of warning them that it was almost closing time. A few minutes later she heard someone shout, and was almost to the adult fiction section to angrily shush them when a gunshot echoed through the library. There was a millisecond of silence after the shot before everyone panicked.

For a library, the noise was deafening.

The remaining people screamed and dropped what they were doing in favor of running to the doors, but the entrance was only big enough to release a few people at a time. Someone pushed Jolene as they scrambled for the exit, and she stumbled, unable to orient herself in the confusion. Another gunshot rang out and she ducked instinctively.

"Dean, grab his arm!" Someone shouted. Jolene perked up and cautiously pushed through the remaining dregs of the people fleeing the library until she was only a few shelves away from the commotion. An entire shelf toppled over, and she sprang back out of the way and into plain sight of the instigators.

"You again? Oh come _on_ , what are the odds?" Dean complained when he saw her out of the corner of his eye. He dropped his shotgun and punched a random library patron in the jaw. Sam thrust a rosary into the man's face and he retreated, but then flung his arm outwards, sending both the Winchesters and Jolene flying with an unseen force.

"We've really got to start setting up tea parties instead of public boxing matches, boys. It's not-" The man twirled his hand to conjure up the proper word. "Convenient." He finished, and Jolene recognized his voice from earlier when she'd checked out his book for him.

"I know we're supposed to take you alive and all, but I really don't mind putting a bullet through your head and bringing you to Bobby like that." Sam snapped. Jolene slowly began to right herself, trying to regain her balance without her eyesight to stabilize her and with the loud noises coming from just a few feet away.

"A simple bullet can't kill me, Samuel. You know that." The man said condescendingly.

"Yeah but it sure as hell works as therapy." Dean grunted, drawing a short silver knife and trying to slice the man across the midriff. Jolene stood and hugged the wall, unsure of which direction was safe to flee in. She'd had her fill of adventure and was more than ready to leave; but luckily the Winchesters and the other man weren't paying much attention to her. Dean kept on advancing on the man, aiming perfect stabs and slices that should have killed his opponent; but the other kept dancing just barely out of his range. Sam worked his way around the two, ready to attack the man from behind.

"Don't think I can't see you, Sam." The stranger called to him over his shoulder. He flicked his hand, and Sam was flung into another shelf of heavy books with a resounding _crack_.

"You know what, Winchesters? I think I'm getting a bit bored. Maybe we'll pick this up at another time? Maybe when you have something more to offer." The man said in a disappointed tone, and Jolene heard the halogen lights overhead flicker once before his voice was quiet. Sam climbed out of the books, gasping, and Dean scowled and gathered their weapons once more.

"Julia, right?" He asked Jolene over his shoulder. She shook her head and his scowl grew deeper. "I knew this dinky little town sounded familiar. Sam's usually the one who remembers all the names and places." He pumped the shotgun to relieve it of an empty shell and held it casually in one hand. Sam joined him with a hand wrapped around his ribs and a grimace.

"He booked it." He said, "We'll catch up with him soon." Jolene could tell by their semi-relaxed tones that the fight was over and it was safe to leave the wall.

"Who was that man?" She asked, "He checked out a _Supernatural_ book earlier today." Sam's grimace morphed into a frown.

"He's Crowley." He responded flatly. "He wants to become King of Hell."

"Wouldn't that be an impressive résumé," Dean interjected coldly. The pocket of his jacket started beeping at high frequencies, startling Jolene with the sudden noise and drawing suspicious looks from Sam. Dean dug out a handheld spectrometer and waved it in a circle, stopping when the beeping grew louder and more frequent. He passed the shotgun off to Sam and followed the spectrometer, weaving in between the bookshelves until the device was absolutely shrieking in his hand.

"Miss Murphy!" A child's voice shrieked. Jolene expertly tracked the sound and followed it until she was standing right behind Sam and Dean and staring down at a little dark-skinned boy huddled between two bookshelves. Jolene could identify who he was from the high pitched sniffling noises he made. She elbowed Sam aside so she could kneel down on the boy's level.

"Yes, Cody?" The child seemed to always be somewhere in the library, and more than once Jolene had wondered where his parents were. He was always very quiet, too; when checking out a book he'd murmur "Miss Jolene" or "Miss Murphy" and slide whatever novel he wanted across the counter. Dean looked at the spectrometer and then glanced at Sam, who shrugged.

"This kid's got an off the chart EMF reading." Dean announced. "He's definitely not human."

"So maybe Crowley was here for him." Sam supplied. His brother shrugged. Jolene reached out to rub Cody's shoulder, but flinched back when she realized that his skin felt like cold water: physically there, but transparent and lenient to force.

And ice cold.

She'd never touched him before, just spoken to him and handed books to him. Sam scrutinized the small boy warily and Dean kneeled down in front of him.

"How long have you been dead?" He asked bluntly, ignoring Sam's eye roll and Jolene's shocked look. Cody shrugged before he answered.

"I remember the men all in white." He said. "With the pointy hats." The adults blanched, easily pinpointing Cody's time period and probable cause of death. Dean rubbed the child's shoulder comfortingly before standing to reconvene with Sam.

"That'd be a good basis for his soul to be corrupt." Sam murmured. "It'd be easy to be bitter about something as horrible as that."

"Yeah, key material for Crowley." Dean agreed, rubbing his jaw and eyeing Cody over his brother's shoulder. They spoke in hushed tones for a few more minutes, then turned to face Jolene and the child.

"Cody, can we send you on your way?" Sam asked kindly. "You can't want to be stuck wandering around on Earth for the rest of eternity." Cody leaned away from the Winchesters instinctively, latching onto Jolene's arm with a grip that felt like someone had painted her arm with liquid nitrogen. Cody's touch made her shiver, but she didn't shrug him off.

"You don't want to be stuck in this tiny dump of a town for forever." Dean told him. Cody turned to look at Jolene with a pleading expression and wide eyes. She couldn't see him, but she could feel his grip tighten on her arm until it was almost unbearable.

"Cody, maybe we should do what these nice men say," She said, understanding that she was his deciding figure on the matter. The child hesitated for a minute, then nodded silently, not at all relinquishing his grip on Jolene's arm.

"Here's what I'm going to do," Sam said. "I'm going to say some goofy and funny words, and you're going to start feeling lighter. I know it's been a while, but do you remember what it's like to fall asleep?" Cody nodded and Sam smiled at him encouragingly.

 _So ghosts don't sleep. That explains why he's always at the library at all hours._ Jolene thought.

"Miss Murphy is going to stay right here and hold your hand the whole time, okay? It makes it much better." Sam added, mainly directing the statement at Jolene like he thought it'd discourage her from removing Cody from her arm. She nodded and Sam began reciting phrases in Latin. Jolene smiled at Cody when she felt his grip tighten, and then it loosened and she could feel him slowly relax. Soon his hand felt like nothing more than a cold breeze on her skin, and then he was gone. Sam finished the last of the exorcism rites and caught his breath, while Dean looked on with amusement.

"What's so funny?" Sam asked. His brother shrugged.

"I'm still not over the irony of her being a librarian and us running into each other again." Dean answered. "Bunch of bad ju-ju if you ask me."

"So Cody is gone forever?" Jolene asked a little shakily. Sam nodded, then verbally confirmed it.

"Yes. He wasn't bad, but he had the potential to be. Crowley travels around and captures corrupt or nearly corrupt spirits, then tortures them to try and become King of Hell." He explained. Jolene blinked at him and shook her head.

"How big is the mess?" She asked, jumping subjects quickly. Dean made a short sound and assessed the damage he and Sam had done to the book shelves.

"Not too much," He said, "There's just one entire shelf down. The other one if only halfway knocked over." Jolene groaned.

"Thanks. Now I get to fill out a damage report when the police get here." She snipped, tilting her head back towards the doors. "I'm surprised they're not here already."

"Do you want us to take you home?" Dean offered suddenly. Jolene furrowed her brow at him and narrowed her eyes.

"You're not throwing me in the back of your Impala again." She said defensively. Dean huffed a laugh.

"It's your best way to avoid an immediate police interrogation." He said. "We can't help you dodge it altogether like at that diner, they probably know you were working this shift or something; but we can at least drop you at your house." Jolene gave Sam a look that was a mix between a plea and a warning not to throw her into the back of the Impala before she navigated to the front door and held it open for the Winchesters. She waited until they'd passed her and left the library before taking out her key and locking the doors securely, although there really wasn't a point.

. . .

Jolene sat in the back of the Impala, decidedly more comfortable than the last time she'd ridden in the leather backseat.

"Two monsters in the same town only a month apart; kind of suspicious, don't you think?" Sam mulled. Dean shrugged and readjusted his hands on the steering wheel.

"Definitely. You think we should do a sweep of the town to make sure it's clear before we move out?" He asked. Sam frowned.

"That'd probably be best. Two in a month is a little too much of a coincidence." He agreed. Jolene sat quietly in the backseat; she'd given the Winchesters her address and then left it up to them to navigate through the tiny town and find her apartment. She was silent until Dean parked the Impala in front of her building and turned off the motor.

"Do you need help walking up all those stairs?" Dean asked sincerely, eyeing the extensively precarious metal staircase that scaled the building and led to the apartments that looked more like run down beach condominiums.

"Little old me will manage, thanks." Jolene said, sliding out of the backseat. She shut the door and slid her hand along the car's side as she stepped to the passenger window. Sam rolled it down for her and she leaned down to face them.

"Please don't ever come calling again." She said seriously. "I don't want to be dragged into any more fights, attacks, or anything else you'd ever be dealing with- none of it."

"I'd love to acquiesce your request, Princess but it's not always our choice." Dean told her sourly. "Trust me if I could pick where to go hunting we'd be in Miami 24/7. Or maybe the Bahamas…" His eyes glazed over and Sam rolled his own out of exasperation.

"We'll try not to bother you if we ever roll back into town." He told Jolene. She nodded and gave the brothers a smile and thanked them before clicking her way to the staircase and beginning the long climb to her apartment on the fourth floor.

. . .

"How's the EMF reading?" Sam called. Dean shook the device in his hand and growled when it stayed quiet.

"Nothing." He shouted back, "It's been dead this whole time!" Sam hissed a warning about his brother's decibel level and kept scouring the rest of the park. By the time they finished it was about one in the morning, and the grass they trudged through to get back to the Impala was wet with dew.

"There was a hotel down this highway," Dean muttered. "I know I saw it when we drove in."

"I don't see anything." Sam said. "You sure you actually saw a hotel?" Dean rolled his eyes.

"Yeah Sammy. I saw a Hilton right before we hit town. I just don't know where it is now." He responded. Sam glanced at a small sign that read: _**Leaving Ellington, Entering Helen- Town of the Largest Dehydrated Tomato**_.

"Maybe we shouldn't leave the town." He said. "We haven't finished scoping the whole town yet, and it may be dangerous to leave so soon." Dean didn't answer him until he passed another sign broadcasting that they were passing into Yancy County, where he turned around in a 7/11 parking lot and headed back to Ellington wordlessly.

"Are we car camping?" Sam asked. Dean laughed at him for a second before turning the radio down to answer.

"Not after the last time you slept in my baby. Dirt in the seat, footprints on the door handles, hell no. You'll be sleeping on the ground before you sleep in my baby again." He said quickly as they sped back into town.

"How about we ask Jolene?" Sam suggested. Dean grunted and navigated the Impala through the streets with expert precision until he parked it right outside Jolene's apartment complex. Sam led the charge up the rickety metal staircase to the fourth floor and paced in front of the doors trying to figure out which one belonged to Jolene. Then the brothers tramped all the way back down the staircase to the ground floor to have a look at the tenant listing, where they found Jolene's name listed beside "Apt. 420". They trudged back up the stairs and debated the best way to wake her up, then opted to rap gently on the window that faced out onto the pseudo-terrace that intersected with the stairway. It took a few minutes of hard knocking before she cracked the door and squinted at them with her ear cocked towards the unwanted visitors.

"Who are you?" She asked blearily. Dean coughed, and she perked up. "You said you weren't coming back." She answered irritably.

"Can we stay here for the night?" Sam pleaded innocently. Jolene tilted her head a little bit, assessing the tone of his voice to debate whether or not she should let the two into her home.

"Can't you just sleep in your car?" She asked, bordering on agitation from being woken up at two in the morning. Dean spoke up indignantly.

"Uh, not with the bitch and his extra-long legs." He interrupted. "He fills up the entire backseat and leaved footprints on the windows; and besides, that car's-"

"Your baby, yeah I remember. That was one of your most frequent lines." Jolene muttered, opening the door father and stepping aside so the Winchesters could walk in.

The apartment was small, but comfortable. It didn't have much of an enigmatic color scheme (Jolene didn't really need one) but she had an excellent taste in material. There was a soft leather armchair, a fabric couch stuffed with down, and a bungee-cord chair by the back wall.

"I buy my furniture based on how it feels rather than the color." Jolene explained as she expertly navigated around the furniture. Her explanation sounded tired and worn out, like she had to give it to every guest she invited into her home out of obligation and necessity. She pointed to the couch over her shoulder.

"That doesn't fold out, but it's softer than angel feathers. One of you can sleep there, and I have an air mattress or a sleeping bag somewhere in the closet." She said, trudging through her apartment and remerging with the air mattress and its pump dragging behind her. She handed it to Dean blearily and stumbled back towards her room.

"Thanks." He called after her.

"Don't mention it." She mumbled over her shoulder, falling back into bed and back asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

 **A.N.- I had said I wasn't going to update. But someone asked me to. I move back into my dorm and out of this dysfunctional household tomorrow, and I can't wait to finally be back at school. I don't know why this story isn't as good as DBS or any of my others. I just feel like I'm not that into it. (Behold, me writing when I'm depressed.) I cannot vouch for the next update, but if you follow this story you'll get an email whenever I** _ **do**_ **update regardlessly.**

 **Thank you for your support.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N.- I think it's picking up. Thank you guys for your support as my love for this story dwindles and rises sporadically. As said earlier, the plot is definitely rehashed, and I'm adding my own bits.**

 **All will be explained, hush child.**

 **CasAteDeansPie- This chapter is for you. I'm glad you liked DBS, I'll try to make this one as good as (I thought) the other one was. You motivated me to finish this chapter, and I'm already halfway through the next one. Thank you.**

Wayward, Ch.3

A loud crash rattled the entire building. Jolene couldn't see the bright light that filled her apartment, but she could feel the temperature it emitted onto her skin. It was so cold it was hot. Sam and Dean were instantly on their feet, and Jolene wobbled through the doorway with her hands slightly splayed to maintain her balance.

"Hey, boys. Long time, no see." A snarky voice said. Jolene could feel the temperature return to normal as the light vanished. Sam leveled his gun at the intruder.

"What do you want, Gabriel?" He snarled. The new voice sniggered and stepped away from the Winchesters. Jolene could hear his feet sliding across the carpet.

"Ooh, tou-chy. Chillax, Sam; I'm here to give, not get. I'm on your side, remember?" Gabriel said.

"You're on whichever side gives you the best perks." Dean interjected coldly. Gabriel hummed an indecisive noise before responding.

"Yeah, that's true. But hey, be glad I'm on your side right _now_." He said as cheerfully as if he was discussing a sports game. He rolled his shoulders and inhaled deeply like he was preparing for a speech. "Anyway, you should know Lucifer is coming. Little did you know that you failed in your mission to the seals. He's still out there, and man is he _pissed_ that Crowley is trying to take his spot as King of Hell." Dean managed to replace his bewildered expression with one of irritation.

"That's impossible, we closed the Cage. Lucifer should be gone." He spat. Gabriel's grin faltered for a second before he plastered it back on again, although it seemed a little forced.

"Nope. I can't explain it, but Luci is still out there, and according to the Winchester Gospel, you two broncos are going to take down either Crowley or Lucifer, and the other guy left standing becomes King of Hell." He explained in one breath. Jolene, who had stayed silent, finally shook her head and stepped in.

"Wait, where are we in the books?" She asked, "I have no idea what's going on."

"You said you didn't want anything to do with us." Sam reminded her. Gabriel raised his eyebrows.

"Picking up ladies again, Winchesters?" He turned to Jolene. "Do you know the meaning of being 'touched by an angel'?" He said lowly. Her face twisted into a snarl of disgust as she stepped away from him. The angel sniggered and turned back to the Winchesters. "So guess who's coming to dinner today?" He asked, "I'll give you three guesses." He held up three fingers for visual emphasis and grinned. Sam and Dean frowned at him and didn't lower their weapons. Gabriel whistled a game show theme song and waggled his fingers.

"Time's running out, guys. Shake a leg and answer or start runnin'." He warned, not even bothering to temper the dangerous edge from his voice.

"The man from yesterday?" Jolene guessed, cocking her head slightly to listen for any affirmative or negative noises Gabriel might make. He made a clicking sound with his tongue.

"Nope, one strike down." He folded one of his three fingers down and waved the remaining two in her face.

"So it is Lucifer." Dean snapped. The angel's smile stretched wide across his face.

"Bingo! And speak of the devil, here. He. Comes!" The apartments started to rattle again, and this time Jolene could hear her neighbors on both sides and below her shouting and panicking at the violent disturbance. She clutched at her doorframe for support, but even that shook violently in her hands.

"You led him here!" Sam accused. Gabriel held his hands up and stepped back.

"It's all on you. I'm not the one loitering in a dinky apartment after clashing with Satan's biggest rival." He said with a shrug. "He's probably coming to either interrogate you or kill you, I'm not sure which one is worse." The angel rolled his shoulders experimentally and swung his arms like he was warming up.

"As of now you've got about five minutes before the Lord of Hell gets up here. If I were you I'd clear out, I can only buy you so much time." Gabriel said. "You too, sweet cheeks. Any chance of your safety was out the window as soon as these two walked in the door." He said to Jolene, who wasted no time in rushing to her room and reemerging with an armful of miscellaneous clothes.

The windows continued to shake, with the tremors growing more violent by the second. Jolene had a hard time clicking her way to the door but knew her apartment well enough that she could maneuver around Gabriel and the Winchesters and get outside. Sam's voice surprised her when he shouted "Go!" and shoved her forward.

Jolene stumbled and tripped down the stairs until she reached the ground level, then one of the Winchesters grabbed her by the sleeve and dragged her to the waiting Impala. She crawled into the backseat while Dean started the car and Sam hopped in beside him. Dean gunned the Impala and pulled onto the road so fast that Jolene's head slammed against the window and the seat from the force.

"Who _was_ that?" Jolene asked, grabbing the front seats for support and poking her head over the console.

"Questions later, we need to get out of town." Dean said quickly, jerking a sharp turn onto the highway and heading south. Jolene waited impatiently before asking again.

"Who was he?"

"He's Gabriel." Sam said.

"The angel." He nodded flatly.

"Brother to Lucifer, and one of the seven archangels." He explained. Jolene waved her hand dismissively in front of her face.

"I know that. I took a religious studies course at the community college. But he's really the real thing?" She asked. Dean grunted.

"Yeah, and more trouble than he's worth." He said, staring down the road ahead as the Impala sped along. The three of them sat in an awkward silence until Jolene broke it.

"I can't go home, can I?" She asked softly. Dean gave her a milder look, turning away from the road for a second.

"No. Sorry." He said meaningfully. Jolene retreated from the Winchesters and curled up in the backseat to process what had happened.

Jobless.

Homeless.

Probably hunted. Anger, misery, and frustration mingled in Jolene's stomach, meshing perfectly with the panicked thoughts in her head. She hadn't asked to be involved in supernatural adventures. Books were one thing; but having an angel stand in her apartment prepared to fight Satan was an entirely different situation.

Jolene leaned forward slightly when she felt Dean veer onto a westbound ramp. She could hear Sam snoring softly to her right; apparently he'd already fallen asleep.

"Where are we going?" She asked, already tired of asking so many questions.

"We're headed to a safe house in Illinois." Dean told her. "It's just a temporary fix until we can get to where we're going. It's a long drive, so sit back and sleep." Jolene wanted to ask him where they were going after the Illinois safe house but decided that she'd asked enough questions for the time being. She curled up against the soft leather seats again, not really accepting her fate and hoping for some way to hopefully restore her old way of life.

. . .

"Dean, do you need me to take over?" Jolene woke up to muted classic rock playing in the background. For a second she panicked, then realized she was in the back of the Impala with a bundle of her clothes and two storybook characters.

"I've got it, Sammy." Dean responded. His brother made a sarcastic noise and Jolene wisely stayed silent.

"You've been driving for nine hours, straight." Sam wheedled. Finally Dean let Sam take over out of exhaustion; and as soon as the Impala was back on the road Sam commandeered the radio and began to play more modern songs. Dean lodged a few protests; but Sam shot him down with a rule about drivers controlling the music and Dean fell quiet. Jolene remained quiet and tried to fall back asleep.

It was mid-afternoon when they pulled into Colfax, Illinois- quite literally the middle of nowhere. Sam took a few directions from Dean until he finally pulled into the gravel driveway of an old hunting lodge. The Winchesters hopped out and stretched their legs, and Jolene climbed out of the Impala a few minutes later. She scuffed her foot on the gravel to feel her surroundings and gasped.

"I don't have my cane! Or my phone program!" She said. "Great. Awesome. Great." She slapped her hands to her sides out of exasperation before reaching back into the Impala to grab the miscellaneous clothes she'd grabbed. Sam quickly offered to take a few of the clothes and lead Jolene up the front steps to the safe house, and after a second of pride she agreed.

It was spacious. Jolene could tell by the way her clicks bounced back. There was an open loft on the second floor she would have to be careful about, and even though Sam and Dean offered to throw together a makeshift pallet for her on the ground she insisted on sleeping on the top floor, an act of defiance. There wasn't any food in the safe house, so Sam left to find the nearest speck of civilization and buy some canned food for dinner. Dean and Jolene made awkward, idle small talk until Sam got back, bearing cans of baked beans and two loaves of bread.

There wasn't much to talk about over dinner. Sam and Dean discussed the probable outcomes of Gabriel's skirmish with Lucifer and whether or not the victor would come after them; while Jolene sat quietly and molded the bread with baked beans on it in her hands idly. She didn't want to talk, she wanted to go home.

"So, Jolene," Dean said. "You're a librarian." She nodded and didn't look up from her bread. "Look, don't sulk and act like you're our prisoner." Dean told her. "You're more than welcome to hitchhike back to Ellison-"

"Ellington." Sam muttered under his breath.

"-But you probably would be dead within the first few hours of getting back in town. So liven up a little." Dean finished. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Maybe you can talk about what your job was like?" He asked Jolene. She looked through him with her blank eyes and frowned.

"Sort books, check them out, et-cetera. Daily repetition." She said. Sam threw Dean a smug look, pleased to have gotten an actual worded answer. "I had a program that could read the book ISPN's and barcodes out to me, and I'd listen to it through my earbuds over an audiobook." Jolene added.

"Which book were you on?" Sam asked.

" _Moby Dick_." Jolene responded without hesitation. "I've listened to it before but it's one of my favorites." Dean sat back and listened to Sam conduct an almost one-sided conversation with Jolene about what they thought the themes of the book were and who they thought was the worst crewman on the _Pequod_ was.

"Definitely Fedallah." Sam said.

"Ahab." Jolene responded shortly, slowly growing warmer to the conversation. "Fedallah did nothing wrong with predicting Ahab's death. If anything he should have been more important. Maybe then everybody wouldn't have _died_." She barked a short laugh then fell quiet, kneading the mushy mass of baked beans wrapped in bread in her hands gingerly. Sam didn't push her, he sat silently and waited for her to make the next move. After a few more minutes of tense silence Dean stood up and stretched with a groan.

"I've got dibs on the bed. Sam, you've got the couch." He said amicably, all the aloofness and stress from the incident in the apartment long gone. He clapped Sam on the back before bidding him and Jolene goodnight and staggering to the bedroom down the hall. Jolene helped Sam throw away the remains of dinner, then told him goodnight and carefully headed upstairs.

Jolene lay awake in bed, listening to the new sounds. There were cicadas outside that were screaming constantly, and she could hear Dean snoring from the first floor. She listened for a little while, then drifted into the watery phase between being awake and dreaming.

Sometime in the night, she heard something crash. Jolene bolted upright and cocked her head to listen for something. She heard one of the Winchesters shout and something slam.

She stumbled out of bed, reaching tentatively in front of herself and clicking softly to make her way to the door. She crept down the fifteen stairs and stopped to reorient herself from the sound of the air conditioner in the living room.

"Sam, Dean?" Jolene called cautiously, hugging the wall for comfort. "Hello?" A groan reached her ears, almost too faint to hear with her excellent hearing. Jolene edged forward into the kitchen and called out again, but didn't get an answer. She clicked her tongue to navigate around the island in front of the stove and trailed her hand along the far wall until she could feel the plaster change to wallpaper.

"Dean? Sam?" She called. Jolene heard a sound from her right that sounded like it was on the ground. She shamelessly dropped to her knees and swept her hands over the carpet until she reached a damp spot and hit something solid that made a short whining sound.

"Dean?" Jolene whispered.

"He's gone," The body responded, "He went after him." Jolene immediately recognized his voice.

"Sam! Are you alright? The carpet is wet, are you-"

"Bleeding, yeah." She felt the area in front of her gently until she could orientate herself to the situation: Sam was on his back in front of her with a hand clasped over his ribs. His head was to her left and his legs pointed to her right, and the carpet in the middle was slowly beginning to soak itself with blood. Jolene leaned away from him, trying to shut out the metallic smell of his blood and the feel of the soaked carpet beneath her knees. She slid her hand underneath Sam's, ignoring the sound he made between gritted teeth. He had staunched almost all the bleeding from a grazing wound left by some kind of blade. The blood underneath Sam's hand was thicker, and Jolene hastily withdrew so she wouldn't make the injury worse.

"What do I do?" She asked, feeling her chest began to expand with anxiety.

"There's an emergency kit somewhere in the kitchen." Sam said, "Find that and bring it back."

"I don't know where it is, I need specifics." Sam's breathing hitched and faltered before resuming a heavy pace.

"I don't know. I think there might have been something on the knife." He murmured. Jolene didn't know if he was referring to the first aid kit or his wound, but decided not to leave him.

"I'm going to call the police." She said, "They can help you and fix this." Sam's free hand shot up and snatched her wrist, and she was surprised at how tight his grip was.

"No!" He wheezed, "You can't do that."

"I've got to." Jolene responded. "You can use one of your fake ID's for the hospital papers."

"No, you don't understand. Those won't work if they run a system check on them." Sam argued weakly. "And they won't be able to help."

"Then how have you gotten away with it in the books?" She demanded anxiously.

"Dean and I would patch ourselves up." He answered, "This is- worse. Just bring me the medical kit."

"Sam I don't know where it is, and it would take me forever to find it. By the time I did you could be dead." Jolene argued.

"Just-"

"I can't find it. I'm _blind_." She snapped. Sam fell quiet and didn't respond. All Jolene could hear was his labored breathing and the intermittent wheeze he would give.

"I'm going to find the phone." She said, standing from the carpet and clicking her way back to the kitchen. Sam made a noise to discourage her but it sounded like one of his lungs was collapsing. Jolene knew the phone was attached to the wall by the sink, but she couldn't orientate herself with the adrenaline and panic shooting through her system. She stumbled around blindly with her arms outstretched until her fingers just brushed the dial pad of the phone. She quickly yanked it from its charging post and felt with shaky fingers for the number 5 key in the middle with the Braille dot. From there Jolene slid her fingers to the 9, and then punched 1 twice. The phone rang twice before an operator picked it up.

 _"Hello?"_ They asked. Jolene felt her pulse quicken.

"Hello, there's been a break in and an attempted murder at- at-"She racked her memory to try and remember if Sam or Dean had mentioned the safehouse's address.

"Sam!" Someone shouted, and Jolene recognized the voice as Dean's. She could hear his footsteps sprint through the kitchen after the lights clicked on with a soft pop. Jolene turned back to the phone, where the operator was waiting patiently.

 _"Miss, where are you?"_ They asked.

"I don't know." She answered on a whim, biting her tongue when she realized how bad it made the situation sound. A slight fringe of static began to creep into the call, and it soon mounted into an interference so bad that Jolene couldn't hear the operator at all. A cool hand plucked the phone from her hand and returned it to its station on the wall.

"I disapprove of that action." A new voice said menacingly. "You shouldn't have done that." Jolene backpedaled from the stranger as fast as she could, tripping as she went. She could hear Dean talking to Sam in the living room and was confused when he directed his voice to the new stranger.

"Cas, grab the med kit." He ordered. The stranger rifled through the cabinets, pulled something out, and brushed past Jolene to hand it to Dean.

"How badly is he hurt?" He asked. Dean grunted and kept working on Sam, who muttered pained expletives under his breath. The stranger cleared his throat and Jolene recoiled when she pinpointed the sound's source to be directly in front of her.

"Shake his hand, Jo." Dean said over his shoulder. Jolene waved her hand about a foot in front of her chest and retracted it when she brushed someone else's; then extended it again and shook the stranger's cool hand all the same.

"I'm Castiel." The voice said.

"Jolene Murphy." She whispered. She could hear Castiel shuffle away from her and felt comfortable clicking her way over to Sam and Dean.

"Is she impaired, Dean?" She heard Castiel whisper loudly, "She makes odd clicking noises."

"She's blind, Cas." Dean answered gruffly. "Go grab me the peroxide." Jolene heard Castiel's footsteps retreat and edged closer to Dean.

"Who is he?"

"A fallen angel of the Lord."

"Another angel?" Castiel returned with a bottle and a wry tone.

"Dean, these items won't help Sam." He observed. "I can use my grace to heal him if you'll allow me." Dean gave the angel a hard look and went back to tending to his brother.

"Cas I need salt. And holy water." He called. Castiel found a container of pure sea salt and a flask of holy water and passed them off to Dean, who flipped the lid open with one hand and inspected the contents.

"Sorry, Sammy." He warned, "This is gonna hurt like a bitch." He upended the container of salt onto Sam's wound, then flushed it with holy water. Jolene could smell something like flesh burning as a loud popping sound filled the room. Sam groaned, and then sighed.

"How you feeling, Sam?" Dean asked. He helped his brother sit up and waited patiently for a response.

"A lot better, actually. Thanks." Sam wheezed. "Whatever was on that knife wasn't normal. What was it?"

"I'd assume it's some sort of demonic substance you developed an allergic reaction to." Castiel observed. "Maybe your anti-possession tattoo made your body reject whatever it was."

"That's all good and well, Cas but who was it that broke in and ran away?" Dean asked, Castiel made a brooding noise and fell quiet for a minute.

"A what, you mean." He said mysteriously.

"Are you damn serious, Cas? What was it?" Dean snapped. The angel shrugged.

"I don't know. If whatever clashed with Sam's tattoo was demonic, don't you think it came from a demon?" He supplied.

"There are wards painted on every surface in this house!" Dean responded sharply. "Nothing should've gotten in." Castiel shrugged at him and Jolene finally spoke up.

"Anti-possession tattoos?" She asked. Sam coughed a little bit under his breath.

"Dean and I have them tattooed on our chests; they keep us from getting possessed by any demons." He explained in one breath. He sounded a lot stronger already, and there was a little bit of color returning to his face.

"What do they look like?"

Sam pursed his lips. "Well they've got-"Jolene gasped and reeled backwards, a vision of an upright pentagram encircled by flames blazing on a black background in her vision. She caught herself and blinked until the vision faded and everything was gray again.

"Cas, what did you do?" Dean asked lowly.

"You said she was blind, so I sent her an eikóna." Castiel replied innocently.

"And what the hell is that?"

"A picture. Astral projection is your term for it, I think." He replied. Jolene blinked repeatedly, still trying to get over the first image she'd seen in her life. The action left her breathless and gave her a bit of a headache, but it was exciting and new.

"Do it again," She urged. "Can you send me another one?" Castiel frowned while Dean pulled Sam to his feet. Another vision flared out of the gray; and Jolene saw two men standing together. One was shorter and had close-cropped hair, and the other had hair that reached to his chin and towered over the first man. They both looked determined and drawn, like they'd seen more than the average person's share of horrors.

"Who are they?" Jolene whispered.

"That's Sam and Dean." Castiel told her. She gaped like a fish out of water, a dreamy, excited look splayed across her face. Dean folded his arms.

"Cas, still no word on whether or not it was a demon who broke in." He said impatiently. Castiel staggered for a second, and Jolene felt a wave of exhaustion and stress wash over her at the same time.

"Eikónae aren't easy." The angel muttered. "It expends my energy and the recipient's."

"Mental email makes you shitfaced. Great." Dean said. Sam cut his brother a look.

"Is there anything you could tell about the intruder?" He asked. Dean shrugged and Castiel shook his head, still looking expended.

"They didn't speak." Jolene guessed.

"Of course not." Castiel said. Sam began to rifle through the first aid kit until he found a needle and suture thread. Dean automatically handed his brother a small bottle of scotch, and Sam downed a gulp of the alcohol with a grimace and retreated to the couch to stitch up his wound. Jolene clicked to the table and sat down, still elated that she'd been able to see but unhappy that the eikónae had given her such a bad headache. She could hear Sam hissing between his teeth as he sutured his wound closed, while Dean and Castiel murmured to each other about how to track down the intruder. Even with her excellent hearing, Jolene couldn't hear them; they kept their voices low and discreet- probably specifically to avoid her overhearing.

"We can't stay here." Castiel said loudly. "Miss Murphy was calling the police when we came in, and they will probably be here soon." Sam sighed and Jolene winced, regretting her hasty actions.

"Sorry," She said lowly.

"It's fine." Dean said tersely, "Sammy grab your bag; it's high time we got on the road again, anyways." He turned to Castiel with a serious expression. "Are you coming with us this time, Cas? Or are you gonna meet us later?" Castiel frowned for a second before answering.

"It'd be smarter for me to leave you and try to find the intruder while you find another place to stay. I'll let you know when I find him." He said seriously.

"Sounds good, Cas. We'll be at Bobby's." Sam agreed as he stood from the couch with a wince and packed up the medical kit. Castiel nodded, and Jolene strained to hear him stride to the door and leave; but she heard only a brief rustling sound like someone shaking bedsheets or walking through tall grass.

"We need to get going." Sam said, "Jolene do you need any help packing?" He asked. She could hear the strained tone of his voice and shook her head.

"I can do it, when do we need to be gone?"

"About ten minutes ago." Dean said, darting up the stairs to grab his bag and Sam's. Jolene stood from the table slowly and clicked around the kitchen until she got to the wall and hugged it all the way to the stairs. She was relieved that her headache from the eikónae was fading, but still felt guilty about accidentally evicting the Winchesters from their temporary residence.

There wasn't much to pack. She gathered the few clothes she'd aimlessly into her arms and hurried back downstairs, unwilling to be the last person ready to go. Sam and Dean were already waiting for her by the door. Sam grabbed her clothes and Dean impatiently helped her down the steps and into the backseat of the Impala. Sam hopped into the passenger's seat and they took off down the highway. On the way away from the safe house they passed a line of police cars with their sirens blaring and their lights flashing. They all held their breath, hoping none of the cars would turn around and follow them. The cars passed, and Dean floored the gas pedal. The Impala shot forward, leaving the vandalized safe house and the police cars safely behind.

 **A.N.- Eikónae** **means "picture" in Greek.** **Just so ya know. It's literally a mental picture. Thank you for your support and I'm sorry if this chapter isn't up to quo. I'm midway through chapter four and I can confirm Bobby's appearance. (Hey, that's one solid guarantee at least.) Questions, fallacies, comments-about-what-I –messed-up are welcome. Thank you.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N.- Don't expect too much from me here. I'm not feeling very good, but I'm just throwing chapters together. Sorry.**

 **Best, Madi**

Wayward, Ch. 4

"Where are we going next?" Jolene asked in a hushed voice, remembering the last time the Winchesters had evaded the police with her in the backseat.

"We're going to another Hunter's place." Sam answered when Dean didn't respond. "We'll be there by the afternoon." Jolene frowned.

"Wait, what time is it?"

"Five-thirty in the morning. Ass-crack of dawn early." Dean said in a tight voice. "Take a nap or something, we'll wake you up when we get there." He turned up the radio and bobbed his head to the classic rock thumping through the speakers. Sam grimaced and Jolene sat back against the backseat. She crossed her arms and legs.

"Actually I'd like answers." She said loudly so the Winchesters could hear her. After the song ended, Dean turned down the radio and gave her his attention; Sam was already listening.

"We do owe you an explanation, huh?" Dean said amicably. Jolene had the feeling that the music had calmed him down after having to flee the safe house so suddenly.

"We hunt monsters." Dean began, Jolene fought the urge to roll her eyes and made herself comfortable amidst the array of her clothes Sam had thrown into the backseat. "Like I told you when you ran from us in a parking lot, you already know our backstory so I'll skip it. Sam is an ex-demon blood addict, we released Lucifer- a.k.a Satan- from his own personal corner of Hell. We tried to put him back by creating our own items to seal him back in, and we thought we had."

"Until you didn't." Jolene said. Dean scowled and Sam thumped his head against the back of the seat.

"That's what Gabriel told us." He interjected. "He's lied before. He's the kind of person who only reveals information if he gets something in the end."

"Anyway," Dean continued, "We're headed to Bobby's." Sam picked up where Dean left off before Jolene could even ask.

"He's our pseudo-Dad." He interjected. Dean pressed his lips together tightly and didn't follow up with another answer.

"You've mentioned him a few times." Jolene said reminiscently. "So he hunts, too?"

"Yeah." Dean said shortly. "Do you want breakfast?" He asked, quickly and effectively changing the subject. Jolene opened her mouth to ask another question but Sam innocuously tapped her knee by reaching painfully through the narrow space between his seat and the door to discourage her. Dean pulled the Impala through a drive through and bought breakfast, then left it to Sam to divide the food. Jolene sat in the backseat, turning the wrapped biscuit she'd gotten in her hands anxiously and feeling her homesickness gnaw at her stomach again. She could feel the grease leaking through the thin wrapper and making the tips of her fingers slick, and she could hear the sound of air pushing around the Impala over Dean's music as they sped down the highway.

Jolene took a minute to extend her senses, letting the smallest noises become louder and any texture or sensation become unique. It helped to ground her when she was in an unfamiliar situation. She'd become familiar with the backseat of the Impala, whether she liked it or not; but the panicked feeling of displacement was still there. Jolene listened for four different things she could hear, three things she could feel, two things she could smell, and one she could taste. After a little bit, her uneasiness faded into an aching throb for her small town. Dean and Sam asked her a few polite questions every once in a while to keep her integrated into their conversations, but mostly they left her to herself.

It was a very long ride.

Hours later, after the sun had started to set, Dean pulled the Impala into what Jolene could tell was another gravel driveway from the crunching sound the wheels made. He lovingly put the Impala in park and climbed out to grab his and Sam's personal items from the trunk. Sam once again opened the door for Jolene and she slid out, taking all of her clothes with her. She followed the sound of Sam and Dean's footsteps ahead of her and used her elbows as a cane when she reached the doorway to keep from hitting the frame.

"Bobby!" Dean called. Jolene could hear someone grunt a reply from another part of the house. She could hear their footsteps, but they didn't sound like normal steps; it was a periodical, almost squeaky noise. Sam took Jolene's clothes from her arms and tossed them onto the nearby couch.

"What the hell do you idjits want, coming back here a whole two days earlier… I didn't even have time to clean." A gruff voice said. Jolene could hear Sam and Dean move past her and hug who she assumed was Bobby, she could hear them clapping each other on the back amicably. She stayed still until Bobby referenced her.

"And who's this? She ain't a Hunter." He said suspiciously.

"Hi, I'm Jolene Murphy." Jolene said almost too quickly, sticking her hand out and almost hitting Bobby in the face. Dean snickered and pushed her wrist down so Bobby could shake her hand properly. She shuffled forward a half step and started with realization when her foot bumped his wheelchair.

"Oh! _Oh_. Oh my God I'm so sorry." She blurted, understanding why his "footsteps" had sounded so off. "I didn't know, I couldn't see you, I'm-"

"Blind? That's no problem, Missy. Glad to meet you." Bobby said brusquely, shaking Jolene's hand roughly with his own. She was surprised with how quickly he pinpointed her issue, and with how little it seemed to affect his handshake. It made her feel a little happy to have her lack of eyesight overlooked.

"So," Bobby said, wheeling his chair away into the depths of the house. Jolene snagged the sleeve of Sam's jacket and let him lead her through the unfamiliar setting. Bobby had stacks of books and papers laying everywhere on the floor, and he seemed to have an overabundant amount of tables. "Did you ever find that luwaloola?"

"Yeah, it was posing as a waitress in a diner." Dean answered. "We kind of wrecked the place." Bobby threw him a sharp glance.

"Great job." He commented sarcastically. Dean didn't budge and Bobby rolled his eyes.

"And where did you join the team, Miss Murphy?" He asked. Once again, Jolene was happy Bobby was speaking to her. He didn't ask Sam and Dean where they'd "picked her up" or anything, he asked her how she'd _joined the team_. The thought made her shudder involuntarily.

"I'm not on a team. I'm not a Hunter." She said quickly. Bobby didn't laugh, it was obvious she couldn't be; but he just made an affirmative noise and moved on.

"Where did you meet these two idjits?" He asked again. Jolene quickly recapped the diner scenario, then the fight in the library and the escape from her crumbling apartment. She stopped after that, unsure of how to relay what happened at the safe house. Bobby raised an eyebrow.

"And then-?"

"Sam got stabbed," Dean interjected. "Cas is out tracking down the guy who did it." Bobby's tone immediately swung from gruff to concerned. He cornered Sam with his wheelchair and demanded he show him the wound, all the while asking questions like "what blade was it", "did you smell sulfur", and "did you cleanse it". Dean snorted.

"Yeah we did. Poured salt on it and flushed it with holy water. Then he stitched it up and drank a little." He said. Sam winced only a little bit when Bobby inspected the wound, gently probing the stitches and checking for any infection.

"You're both idiots." He snapped, rolling away from them and farther into his house. Jolene didn't hear Sam and Dean follow him so she stayed put. Bobby reemerged a few minutes later with a plastic grocery bag tied at the handles. He untied it and set out an array of remedies, then made a quick poultice out of something that smelled like alcohol and copper and pasted it over Sam's wound.

"That should ward away anything that got into your system." Bobby said sternly, stowing his supplies back in the plastic bag and letting it sit aimlessly on his lap. "What were you thinking?" He scolded. "Did you not check all the sigils around the safe house before conking out? You're supposed to always put down a fresh line of salt at every entrance!" Sam hung his head and even Dean stared at his belt buckle.

"Yeah sorry, Bobby." He muttered. Jolene cocked her head at the new tone and made a note of it. Obviously Bobby really was the Winchesters' other father figure, he could shame them easier than shaming a dog. The older man scowled at them and crossed his arms.

"So, updates." He demanded rather than asked. "Any news from Crowley?" Sam took a deep breath.

"From him and from Lucifer." He said quietly. Bobby was silent for a minute. He stayed still with a fixed glare on his face and his arms tightly laced across his chest. Then he unfolded them and slapped his hands on his knees.

"Lucifer?" He snapped, " _That_ Lucifer?"

"Unless you know any other one." Dean said dejectedly, ignoring the sharp look Bobby gave him.

"You told me you'd locked him back in the Cage. As I recall locking that bastard back in his cage required losing my ability to walk." The Hunter growled. Jolene felt her mouth drop open slightly.

"We know," Sam said, his tone rising a little bit and becoming more heated. "It's not like we let him out of the Cage. Gabriel came to warn us that Lucifer is competing with Crowley for the spot as King of Hell." Bobby's eyebrows crept up his forehead.

"You heard from that stinking angel again?"

"Were you referring to me?" An odd voice asked. Jolene realized it was Castiel after an instant, especially when Dean exclaimed "Dammit Cas!" and shoved the angel away from him. Jolene hadn't heard him enter, and she was beginning to suspect that he could perform some sort of teleportation. She was still wary of Castiel, but it took every ounce of her self-control to not beg him to send her another eikónae.

"Did you find who broke in?" Dean asked. Castiel shook his head.

"I found no sign. They covered their tracks exceptionally well." He admitted. "But I will keep looking for them." He turned to Sam. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked, "No other reaction to the substance?" Sam and Dean shot the angel pained looks and Bobby raised his eyebrows.

"You had a reaction?" He asked. Sam gave him a small explanation, and Bobby frowned.

"You know what… just go to bed, you idjits. I'll discuss this with you in the morning." He snapped.

Bobby had plenty of beds, and his house was only one story, so the night was comfortable for Jolene. Dean convinced Castiel to stay the night, and Sam willingly took the bed Bobby all but forced him into. He was out as soon as his head hit the pillow, and Jolene could hear Castiel and Dean talking to Bobby from the guest room she'd been lodged in. Their voices were too low for her to make more than a few words out about what had happened at the safe house, so she fell asleep to the murmur of their voices.

. . .

It was a peaceful night, Jolene woke up in stages and was pleased to find that she'd slept soundly through the night. No intrusions. No Lucifer or errant angels breaking into her apartment. She didn't realize how little sleep she'd gotten over the last few days. It felt good to be in a house that was safer than a safe house.

Jolene staggered into Bobby's ridiculously crowded living room, a few new piles of books and papers grazed her legs as she tried to remember where everything was. After knocking a few stacks over Dean appeared by her side and guided her to the kitchen table, where Bobby had a sparse but quaint breakfast of toast and eggs waiting.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked. Jolene stretched and yawned as an answer, and Bobby slid a plate of food towards her with a grin.

"Is Sam still asleep?" He asked. Jolene managed to create a thoughtful look as she shoveled eggs into her mouth. She'd noticed that Castiel was absent.

"I haven't heard him get up and move past my room." She said, "He's got to be."

"Go wake him up, boy." Bobby ordered Dean. The older Winchester abandoned his food and slunk away to wake up his brother. His shout brought Jolene stumbling through the house as Bobby tried to maneuver his wheelchair after her. Jolene dragged her hand along the wall to try and feel for the doorway to Sam's room. After she passed the room she'd slept in she swung around the doorframe and into the next room, almost bumping into Dean by the bed. He was cradling Sam's head in his lap and had a scared tinge to his voice that Jolene hadn't heard him use yet.

"Bobby, he's not waking up." He breathed. Bobby pushed his wheelchair past Jolene to try and get to the bed.

"Pulse?" Dean's fingers fumbled to Sam's neck.

"Barely," He reported. Bobby grunted and pulled up Sam's shirt. He peeled away the poultice he'd pasted on top of the wound and grimaced at it. The edge of the wound was tinted black, and the surrounding flesh was a light grey.

"Dean, go grab me some salt from the cabinet in the kitchen." Bobby ordered. Dean jumped to his feet and darted past Jolene. She could hear his ragged breath as he passed and could hear Bobby murmuring to Sam while Dean rummaged through the kitchen. He returned, gently pushing Jolene's shoulder out of the way so he could edge past her. She stood in the doorway awkwardly as he and Bobby poured almost all of the tin of salt onto Sam's abdomen. Jolene listened intently, unsure of what she could do to help. She could hear the soft _shh_ sound of the salt as it left the container, but she couldn't hear any noises from Sam.

"C'mon, Sammy c'mon…" Dean murmured. Bobby said something sharply in another language and Sam began to splutter. He rolled away from the two of them and retched, then flopped back onto the bed and lay on his back, chest heaving.

"Sam! What happened?" Dean asked urgently, "You had almost no pulse and your stab wound was black." Sam blinked repeatedly, ignoring his brother's wheedling and trying to orientate himself to his surroundings. To Jolene it seemed like he couldn't get enough air. He kept on inhaling deeply, then exhaling in short bursts that seemed to completely exhaust him. Bobby tossed Dean a stern look.

"Looks like you boys won't be leaving here anytime soon." He said grimly, gently pushing Sam back into bed as best as he could from his chair. He and Dean made sure Sam was situated before leaving. Jolene let them pass her and then crept forward towards Sam's bed. The room was cluttered, but she made it to the bedside by tapping her feet in front of her and only clicking when she tried to find a spot to sit on the bedspread. Sam watched her approach warily.

"What happened?" She asked him quietly.

"Nothing I can explain." He sighed blearily. "I couldn't breathe." Jolene frowned and took a seat by his feet.

"Maybe the stuff Castiel said your tattoo repelled came back." She said thoughtfully, envisioning the antipossession tattoo Castiel had sent her in his eikónae. Sam groaned and leaned his head back onto the pillow.

"I don't feel any pain from the stab wound. It's actually pretty numb." He mused. Jolene pursed her lips and frowned. A sharp whistle made her swing her head towards the door. Dean leaned against the doorframe with a scowl that lightened when he saw Sam actually making conversation. Dean jerked his head back down the hallway to cue for Jolene to leave, then frowned when Sam rolled his eyes at him.

"Jo, let me talk to Sam." He said, "I've got stuff to discuss with him if he's not gonna sleep." Jolene frowned before tapping Sam's knee reassuringly, slid off the bed, and clicked her way out of the room. Sam rolled his eyes again.

"You've called her Jo twice, now." He pointed out.

"You're pretty ballsy for someone who got stabbed just the other day." Dean retorted. "Want to get stabbed again?" Sam shrugged at him.

"You just slipped. Do you really miss Jo that badly?" He asked, Dean snorted.

"Chillax, Sammy. It's only been two months. We'll meet up with her and Ellen soon." He said. "It's the normal Hunter business. Losing contact for months, that kind of stuff. I want to know about what just happened. Did you just happen to go comatose? Or was your wound turning black a sign of something?" Sam pushed himself up onto his pillows with considerable effort and looked his brother in the eye.

"I don't know. I was asleep, and I couldn't wake up. I was aware of you and Bobby in the room, but everything was black and fuzzy. Like velvet." He explained.

"Bobby will love it when I tell him you were trapped in a velvet box. Very manly." Dean remarked. Sam gave him a flat look that Dean returned with a shrug.

"Cas left early this morning, he's still trying to figure out who shanked you." He said, "And when we find whoever it is I'm gonna go Liam Neeson on his ass."

. . .

"Can you catch me up?" Jolene asked uncertainly, debating whether or not it would be polite to continue eating breakfast after Sam's debacle. Bobby looked up at her with a mouthful of toast and eggs and raised an eyebrow.

"On what?" He asked.

"The books. What's going on currently?" Jolene elaborated, "I've only read the first few, and I have no idea what's going on." Bobby finished his mouthful and sat back in his wheelchair thoughtfully.

"Well… those two are idjits, the both of them. Dean got himself an internship in hell after he traded his soul to save Sam's after Sam was killed. You following me?" He said, pausing to let Jolene piece the parts together. "Then there's the whole thing with Lucifer. Castiel pulled Dean out of Hell, and unfortunately he opened an almost complete set of seals that let Lucifer out of the Cage God had made him in Hell. The boys went around the country making their own Seals out of whatever they could find- angel blades, a ghost's fedora, I think there was one girl's cell phone- to seal Lucifer back into the Cage."

"Did it work?" Jolene asked, then she checked herself. "Well guess not… obviously." Bobby nodded.

"After that they had a spat with some high quality angels." He continued.

"Like Castiel?" Jolene asked. Bobby shook his head.

"Try Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, the big seven-ish or so of them." He answered. Jolene knitted her brow.

"But Gabriel appeared in my apartment and warned us that Lucifer was coming. Isn't he on our side?" Bobby gave her a haphazard shrug and sighed.

"You can't be certain with angels. The only one we can really trust is Cas." He said. "And apparently Lucifer is out and hunting for blood again; but he's not taking his own sweet time."

"Do you think he sent whoever stabbed Sam ahead to make it easier for him to kill Sam and Dean?" Jolene asked. "Maybe disable, distract, something like that?" Bobby looked at his plate thoughtfully.

"Y'know that could be a damn good strategy. Before Lucifer was put back in his cage he and Michael wanted Dean and Sam as their vessels." He said. Jolene cocked her head to the side and wondered if she'd heard him clearly.

"Like vessel as in possessing them?" She asked, eager for more clarification.

"Michael and Lucifer wanted them so they could wage heavenly war- no pun intended- and the victor took over the world." Bobby said. Jolene had many more questions, but her attention was snagged by Dean trudging back into the kitchen with a scowl.

"Sam's in bed." He relayed. "He should be good for a little while. Got any more food?" He pointedly ignored Bobby's attempt to catch his eye and scooped some of the eggs from the stove into an empty coffee mug when he couldn't find a plate.

"You boys made it onto the news. Again" Bobby said, reaching for the remote and unpausing the television across the room. Jolene heard a chirpy reporter resume the monologue Bobby had stopped her in.

 _"-two Caucasian males with an African American woman as their hostage. Jolene Murphy, 28, was taken from her apartment before three AM this past Saturday in Ellington, Vermont. Her apartment was in disarray, and neighbors reported explosions, bright lights, and tremors. Police are actively looking for the two men and their hostage. Back to you, J-"_ Bobby turned off the TV and spun his chair to face Dean.

"You weren't very covert this time," He admonished. Dean frowned, poured a little of the eggs into his mouth, and shrugged.

"That wasn't our fault- that was Gabriel and Lucifer." He set his mug down on the counter. "And what the hell are we supposed to do now? Obviously the Seals we made didn't work, so how are we supposed to get Lucifer back in the cage?"

"Remember, Lucifer wants you as his vessel." Bobby reminded him. "Maybe he's coming back to finally recruit you, and somehow Michael will come back for Sam."

"Like hell he's gonna," Dean snapped. Jolene frowned when she noticed a continuity error.

"Wait, where is Michael? You said Lucifer was locked back in the Cage; but where is he?" She asked.

"Cas ripped his wings off." Dean muttered. "Then he tossed him back into Heaven, where he's been recuperating."

"So he's going to come back."

"Yeah." Jolene could feel her homesickness start to gnaw at her insides again. She wished she could ask Dean to drive her back to Vermont, but she knew it'd be too big of an inconvenience to ask him to leave Sam in his current condition. A rustling sound filled the kitchen, and Jolene immediately listened for Castiel's voice.

"Hey, bucko." A cocky voice said. Jolene recognized Gabriel after a second of recollection. Dean had adopted a confrontational stance and Bobby reached innocuously for a gun he had attached to the underside of the table. Gabriel flicked his wrist and sent Bobby's wheelchair skidding back from the table a few feet. Dean stepped forward angrily but Gabriel held up his hand and held him back with no effort.

"Chill, I just came by to drop off a little something to help you. I was able to hold off Lucifer, but he's still coming for you and I don't have the juice to stop him again." He said amicably; but Jolene noticed a tense edge to his voice.

"Are you hurt?" She asked, Gabriel swung to face her with a slightly pained grin.

"He-ey, sight for sore eyes. Does it show that much?" He inhaled slightly as he shifted away from Dean, and Jolene could picture him clasping a hand across his ribs and wincing. He pulled something from the inside of his coat and passed it off to Dean.

"Geniune angel blade," Gabriel huffed, "Skewer Lucifer with that and he'll be powder." Jolene tilted her head a little bit. She could hear the sound of metal swishing on cloth as Dean rubbed the blade with his sleeve.

"It's smashed to pieces!" He said incredulously. Gabriel sighed.

"Yeah, Luci's blade broke it in our little skirmish. You're welcome to hang onto the pieces for me." He said with what sounded like true melancholy to Jolene. She could hear metal pieces clinking together as Dean turned the four medium-sized shards in his hands.

"But don't you need this?" He asked. Gabriel laughed.

"I can barely lift it, bro. I'm going into hiding for a while, and my blade- what's left of it- will help you more than it'll help me." He explained. "Tough luck, but I trust you can handle it without breaking it even further. If not, I'll take the check out on your ass later." Jolene frowned.

"Wait, but what if-"She heard another rustle, and didn't bother finishing her sentence. Gabriel was gone, leaving nothing but his angel blade behind in Dean's hands.

"That was eventful." Bobby commented. "You can all camp out here for a few days while Sam gets over whatever's in his system." Dean nodded his head at the gracious offer and went to put away the angel blade; and Jolene quietly finished the breakfast that'd taken her almost two hours to eat.

. . .

Sam recovered remarkably quickly. Dean spent the two weeks of his brother's recovery either drinking, pouring over books, or hovering over Sam's bedside with a concerned look branded onto his face. Jolene milled about Bobby's house aimlessly, becoming acquainted with the stacks of papers and research scattered everywhere. Her homesickness grew increasingly worse as she sat around. She tried to explore the junkyard constructed around Bobby's house, but after almost getting lost she didn't stray any farther than the front porch.

"Bobby," She asked one night. Sam was sleeping, and Dean had disappeared- probably to go out drinking again. Jolene sat at the kitchen table across from Bobby with a lukewarm plate of baked beans and cornbread slowly turning cold in front of her.

"Yeah, missy?"

"Can you teach me to hunt?" Bobby blinked at her and cocked his head.

"But you're not uh, equipped to be-"

"I know." Jolene answered, amending her tone when her response came out terse. "I'd love to have Sam and Dean protecting me all the time but that's unrealistic. And I think it's way past the point where I can't step away and go back to just being a librarian anymore. Am I right?" Bobby was quiet for a second as he turned his words and his answer over carefully.

"I won't be able to teach you more than a few things. Sam and Dean never stay in one pace for long, especially not here." He said finally, "Three hunters in one place attracts a little too much attention, you understand?" Jolene nodded.

"But will you help me?" She asked. Bobby rubbed his face as if it could alleviate his stress and his impending headache.

"I can try. You know the basics of what the boys use, right? Holy water, salt, silver, the whole nine yards?" He asked. Jolene nodded again and leaned forward, eager to learn a little more about the Winchester profession. Bobby chewed on his cheek and tried to figure out an efficient way to train the blind woman knitting her fingers together in front of him. He sighed.

"Actually, Missy you're not going to be much help to them. Not in any way I can think of, at least." He said flatly. Jolene blew air out of her cheeks like a slowly deflating balloon.

"I know." She admitted. "But isn't there anything you can teach me? Even just some basic defense or fighting?"

"I could give you some words to say in Latin." Bobby answered. "Those're pretty helpful when you're in a tight spot and you can use them anywhere." Jolene leaned forward again, eager to hear what he had to say.

"What are the words?'

"They're phrases, actually." Bobby said. "Latin is your best language for dealing with spooks and monsters, and Greek is your second. A good banishing phrase is _retro Satana_."

" _Retro Satana_." Jolene murmured, turning the words over in her mouth. "What does it mean?"

"It means 'get thee behind me Satan' in fancy speak. It was really common in the seventeen hundreds when everyone was afraid their neighbor was having evening drinks with the devil. It's not strong, but it's a good one if you need to buy time to stake someone or make a getaway." Bobby explained in one breath.

"Are there any others?" Jolene asked him. Bobby rubbed his forehead with his hand and pushed his hat up out of exasperation. He let it drop back down and frowned.

"You can also say _tueri Sancte fortis_ , which means 'holy power protect', but I think you'll have a better time remembering _retro Satana_." He advised.

" _Tueri Sancte fortis_ and _retro Satana_." Jolene repeated, bobbing her head with each word. Bobby gave her a thumbs up, then opted for verbal confirmation.

"You've got it, Missy."

. . .

When Castiel appeared, Jolene was busy listening to more of the _Supernatural_ books on audio out of boredom. She was halfway through _"No Exit"_ when she heard something hit the ground. Hard. Jolene jolted upright, dropping the archaic CD player Bobby had loaned her onto the floor and letting her earbuds fall out, too.

"Hello?" She called.

"Where's… where's Dean?" Castiel wheezed. Jolene rolled off of the couch and skirted to her left until she was right beside Castiel's labored breathing.

"Castiel? Are you okay?" She asked, fumbling for the angel's neck to reach for a pulse but then feeling his chest for any blood. Her hands came away dry, but she still panicked.

"What's hurting, where are you hurt?" She asked frantically. Castiel shoved her away, and the force sent her backwards a little bit.

"Find Dean." He choked. Jolene stood up quickly and stumbled for a second over the nearest pile of junk, but then staggered to the door that connected Bobby's house to his garage.

"Bobby!" She called. "Dean!" She could hear scrambling, and soon Dean appeared in front of her, with Bobby wheeling close behind him.

"What? What's wrong?" Dean asked, Jolene was startled when he clamped his hands on her shoulders and shook her slightly- not aggressively, but slightly- to glean a response.

"Cas. Cas is in there." She said, relieved when his hands left her shoulders and he pushed past her into the house. Jolene followed after him, and Bobby brought up the rear. Dean had already helped Castiel onto the couch, and although the angel had no physical wounds, he was still breathing heavily.

"Cas, what happened?" Dean asked lowly. The angel grimaced and shook his head.

"I don't know. I was on my way back here, and then something attacked and deterred me in midair. I also sensed Gabriel, was he here?" He asked.

"He was here weeks ago, Cas. How long have you been out of it?" Dean asked with genuine concern. Castiel shook his head again.

"I just left you a few days ago." He panted. Bobby blew air out of his cheeks slowly.

"Well, that's another patient." He said, "You can crash down the hall in the spare bedroom and recuperate." Dean helped Castiel up and let him lean on his shoulder as they staggered down the hall to the bedroom beside Sam's that Jolene had been sleeping in. Dean stopped in to check on Sam before returning to Jolene and Bobby.

"Do you think it was the guy who stabbed Sam who got Cas?" Bobby asked. Dean shrugged and collapsed onto the couch, then got up and grabbed a beer and sat back down again.

"How the hell am I supposed to know," He replied. "Cas is out cold, so I'll ask him about it when he wakes up. All we can do is wait."

 **A.N.- Yes, it's terrible. Yes, I know. But there's so much going on that I can't even write a proper chapter anymore. I'm also considering writing another Dame of Baker Street story (even though you know how that one ended). Any advice or criticism is welcome, I'd love to have some criticism or ridicule on my stories for once please. I know they need it, so say it. (Please pardon my depressive swing.)**


	5. Chapter 5

Wayward, Ch. 5

Castiel slept for three days straight. While he was out cold, Sam got better. The wound on his side didn't look as angry as it had before, and he grew stronger with each day. Jolene spent her free time tracing the sigils and banishing circles Bobby had drawn for her. He'd drawn them on normal paper with a crayon so she could tell where the line was by the texture of the crayon wax.

Dean kept a near-constant vigil by Castiel as he slept on the couch. He went back and forth between checking on Sam and watching the angel intently, and Jolene could almost always go to Sam if she needed to find Dean; he'd be there.

On the fourth day, Castiel woke up. Dean wasn't there, but Bobby quickly found him and brought him in. Sam and Jolene followed.

"Cas! Do you remember anything from before you passed out?" Dean urged. The angel shrugged.

"I don't know. But… Salt Lake City." He said. Bobby's eyebrows knit together.

"Utah? What does that have to do with anything?" He asked. Castiel put his head in his hands for a minute to try and collect his thoughts. Jolene listened intently for any sign that he was going to answer.

"I can't remember." He said after a while.

"It's cool," Dean clapped him on the shoulder and grinned. "At least we have our heading. Sam, grab your bags; Jolene, you too." Jolene didn't realize how comfortable she'd grown at Bobby's house; but it became obvious when Dean threw the duffel bag Bobby had loaned her into the Impala and slammed the trunk. She was hit again by the gut-wrenching feeling of homesickness again, and when she clicked to Bobby he could tell it, too.

"Sorry, Missy." He said, "But you can't stay here." She tried not to frown.

"I know," She replied, "Thank you for letting us stay, though." She could hear him smile at her and thanked him again.

"Cas, you coming?" Dean asked.

"I need to rest for another day or so. I'll meet you in the Salt Lake place when I can." He said. Jolene noticed that his voice was tight and sounded pained. Dean clapped him on the shoulder again, then he and Sam gave Bobby quick hugs and corralled Jolene into the Impala.

"Any idea what we're looking for in Utah?" She asked as the car sped down the road.

"Cas didn't give us anything to go off of." Sam told her, "We'll get there, scope the town, and wait for him to meet us to see if he remembered anything else."

"It's a… oh, I'd say about a four hour drive." Dean speculated. "We'll stop off somewhere in Wyoming."

"How do you guys live with all the driving?" Jolene complained, "Why not take a bus? Or fly?" Sam snickered and Dean made a small noise of indignation.

"I'm fine with driving." He said, reaching for the radio. Jolene sat in the back seat and ruminated while Dean hummed along to the loud music pushing through the speakers. Every once in a while she could hear a page turn and assumed that Sam was reading something.

. . .

Salt Lake was a beautiful city. Or so Sam told Jolene. He avidly described the mountain range encircling the city and the bright lights shining from "every building". Dean pulled the Impala into a cheap motel and reserved a room, then collected his bags and went inside. Jolene and Sam followed and helped Dean move in.

The motel room was small, although not as small as Jolene's apartment. There were two beds, an adjoining bathroom, and a small table with a microwave and a sink in the corner. Sam and Dean instantly threw their bags to the far side of the room and offered Jolene a bed to herself, which she kindly accepted. Sam set up a laptop on the table and began to comb the local news for anything suspicious, and Dean left to grab dinner. Jolene sat awkwardly on the bed, feeling more than a little useless and homesick.

"Did you find anything yet?" She asked, Sam made a humming noise and finished typing a search query before turning his attention to her.

"Only a few disappearances. None of them are recent though and some of the cases were solved. I don't know why Cas wanted us here." He complained.

"He had to have a good reason," Dean said from the doorway. He dropped paper bags of fast food onto the table along with a few grocery bags of assorted items. "He seemed pretty shaken so whatever's here must be important." Sam pulled a store-bought salad kit from one of the grocery bags with a pleased expression, and Dean pulled a burger from a greasy paper bag.

"Oh yeah, I didn't know what you wanted, Jo; so I just bought you a salad too. You and Sam can be rabbits together." Dean said through a mouthful of mushroom and Swiss. Sam frowned at his brother as he shook the salad container to mix his food and passed Jolene the other salad.

"There's not much going on in this town." He told Dean, who was thoroughly engrossed in his burger. "No, really. Either their police are really good or their criminals are really bad. Nothing. Nothing even suspicious." Dean pulled back for a second to inspect his burger before pulling a soda from a grocery bag.

"Did you check to see if there are any hunters in the area?" He asked. "They could be doing a great job cleaning up." Sam shook his head and began to eat, and Jolene had the luck to break the awkward silence by shaking her salad.

"So how long until Castiel catches up with us?" She asked, trying to start a conversation that wouldn't leave her awkwardly sitting to the side. Dean shrugged, but Sam gave her a verbal answer.

"We don't know. Sometimes it takes a few days, sometimes it's instant. I think tomorrow we should go look around the town- just in case; maybe Cas was wrong." He said, directing the last part of his answer to both Jolene and Dean.

"If he said something's here then something's here." Dean replied rigidly. Sam held up his hands in a surrendering motion and made a small pained sound.

"Are you okay?" She asked a little uncertainly. She could hear Sam exhale slowly as he smiled in her direction, and Dean watched his little brother intently.

"Maybe you should go to bed." He said in a voice that was more demanding rather than suggestive. "All that rabbit food isn't good for you." Sam pulled a face at his brother's attempt at a joke and gently lowered himself onto one of the beds. Within minutes he was snoring and fast asleep, and Dean and Jolene finished their dinners in silence.

"You look upset." Dean remarked as he downed the rest of his soda. Jolene viciously stabbed a piece of lettuce with her fork.

"I'm not." She replied shortly. Dean raised an eyebrow.

"You're still homesick?" Jolene rolled her eyes and tried to listen for sounds besides Sam's snoring to avoid Dean's question. "Hey, are you still homesick?" He repeated. Jolene frowned and set her salad aside.

"Look, Dean: you and I both know you guys don't have a good track record of keeping people alive." She said, gesturing to him and Sam. "No, no don't get mad; I'm not criticizing you for it." She could tell Dean was hurt by the way he shifted away from her and huffed.

"You and Sam don't need to be bogged down by me literally stumbling around blindly after you; and I'm just not safe around you guys." Jolene elaborated. "I'm grateful for all the times you guys have saved me so far, but I'd really like to go home." Dean unfolded his arms and sat forward, ready to present an argument.

"Jo-"

"Dean. I want to go home." She repeated. "As soon as we get to the next town that has an AmTrak station, I'm going to take a train home to Vermont." Dean sighed and rubbed at his eyes.

"We've told you before. If you go back home that's suicide. We don't know what's going on or who's in this game, and as much as we'd love to return you to your library I don't feel comfortable sending you to your death." He told her tersely. He held up his hands when Jolene leaned forward to argue. "And I get it, you don't like this stuff. Neither did I- neither _do_ I- but you're kind of stuck with us until we get this whole thing figured out, then we'll be _more_ than happy to truck your happy ass back to Ellision."

"Ellington." Jolene muttered. She felt like she'd gotten a grade-A scolding, and her urge to go home had only tripled thanks to her embarrassment.

"Don't be down about it." Dean told her in a voice that was still tight, but also a little apologetic. "Think of it as enough adventure for a lifetime. We'll get this done and sorted out, then we'll take you home, alright?" Jolene warily agreed, then climbed into the other bed across the room, still in her jeans and shirt. It was awkward and hard to fall asleep, mostly because Jolene could hear Dean muttering to himself as he researched things on the laptop and because Sam wasn't the quietest sleeper.

. . .

"Jolene, get up. We have to go out." Jolene wasn't aware that she had fallen asleep, but her mouth was dry and her head was light when Dean shook her awake. She started at the sudden contact, but the older Winchester didn't even apologize for surprising her.

"W-"

"Sam's gone. We have to go find him." Dean said shortly. He snatched his jacket from the table and shrugged it on, then let the motel room's door shut behind him with an angry _bang_. Jolene stumbled out of bed and pulled on her shoes, then clicked her way across the room and outside of the motel. She found Dean pulling randomly assorted items angrily out of the Impala's trunk. He grabbed his sawed off shotgun and a flask of holy water before nudging Jolene to the passenger side door and climbing in.

It was weird being in the front seat of the Impala. Jolene knew she had more important things to worry about, but she couldn't help but feel a little bemused that she was in Sam's assigned seat. Dean gunned the Impala and it shot down the road. He quickly dialed for his brother's phone but received only the dial tone in response.

"Dammit," He growled, tossing his phone into the backseat. "Here, hang onto these and _don't_ lose them." He told Jolene. She had no idea what he was talking about until he pulled a wadded-up paper towel from his jacket and passed it to her. Jolene could hear the sound of metal clinking, and then realized that Dean had passed her Gabriel's broken angel blade.

"Why?" She asked, quietly clutching the pieces together and stuffing them in her back pocket. Dean's hands tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles were almost white.

"Because I have a feeling I'm going to have to fight something, and I don't want them getting those shards." He said bitterly. Jolene barely managed to repress a shudder; Dean had said some _thing_ , not some _one_. The thought made her pale. She toyed with her braids as Dean drove the Impala down the streets of Salt Lake, scanning and calling for Sam with his window rolled down. Jolene almost whacked her nose on the Impala's dash when Dean slammed on the brakes and quickly backed up. He hastily threw the car into park and jumped out.

Then Jolene smelled smoke.

"Dean!" She shouted after him, "What's on fire?"

"The building!" He called back over his shoulder, "And Sammy just went inside, stay there!" Jolene assumed that Dean had continued into the building to find Sam, so she slid out of the Impala and started to follow him in but stopped just outside the threshold. She could hear a faint ringing sound over the subtle crackling of flames, and realized it was coming from the angel shards in her pocket. She pulled them out and frowned. They'd grown warm, and seemed to be pulsing and humming.

Jolene refrained from entering the building for a moment; she could tell that a majority of the place hadn't caught fire yet from the smell of the smoke, so she knew there was a good chance that she could find the Winchesters before the fire consumed the whole building. Jolene hastily stuffed the angel shards into her pocket again and tried to pinpoint the direction where she'd last heard Dean's voice and go from there.

. . .

The smoke was everywhere, but Jolene had the advantage of not having or needing her eyesight. The fire wasn't spreading very quickly, but the smoke flowed from room to room like a suffocating phantom. Jolene stayed close to the ground, and kept her eyes tightly shut, and clicked her way through the rooms delicately. The smoke's thickness slightly affected the reverberation of her clicks, so Jolene kept a tentative hand stretched in front of her to brush away or feel for anything that might suddenly block her path.

"Sam!" She shouted, "Dean! Winchesters!" Jolene heard something crash to her right, and she uneasily made her way towards the sound. "Dean?" She called again, "Guys?" She could feel the heat on her face grow until it felt like she was nose-to-nose with a bonfire. Jolene spluttered and coughed as she accidentally inhaled a mouthful of smoke, and then she made the mistake of opening her eyes to the heat and ash.

Sam's hand appeared out of nowhere, catching Jolene by the throat. All the air in her lungs was pushed out as he slammed her into a brick wall with considerable force. She tried to reason with him, to try and speak; but he wasn't aiming to slowly choke her, he was trying to kill her. It was only a few seconds before Dean barreled into his brother, knocking Sam aside and dropping Jolene to the floor. She immediately gagged and started choking as smoke-tinged air rushed back into her lungs with a wheeze.

"Get to the door!" Dean shouted at her, keeping a tight grip around Sam's waist as his brother tried to throw him off and aim a good punch at his face. Jolene scrambled to her feet and felt for the hot stone wall she'd been shoved against to try and guide herself out. She could hear Sam and Dean grunting as they rolled around and grappled with each other on the floor and couldn't help but turn back to them. Dean ignored her and kept on trying to subdue Sam, but the younger Winchester was holding his own. He blocked almost every blow Dean dealt him, and then landed quite a few of his own.

" _Retro Satana_ ," Jolene murmured. She heard Sam halt for a split second, like he'd been tazed, but he shook the small enchantment off and resumed punching at Dean. Jolene crept closer to the fight, still keeping a wary distance so Sam couldn't lunge at her if he had a mind to. Her lungs and throat were burning and her eyes stung, but she tried to pinpoint the sound of the Winchesters scuffling on the floor.

"Tuer sank four-tif!" She cried, feeling over-confident in her ability to remember the longer incantation Bobby had taught her after nailing the shorter one. She didn't hear a change in the scuffling on the ground, so she tried a few more times before getting it right.

" _Tueri Sancte fortis_!" Sam went rigid and fell like a stone. Dean pushed him off and sat up, gasping and rubbing at the various scrapes and bruises he'd garnered.

"Keep repeating that," He ordered Jolene, taking off his belt to tie Sam's hands together. Jolene kept repeating the phrase, wary of tripping over the words when they became too repetitive and dull on her tongue. Dean dragged Sam off of the ground and partially threw his younger brother over his shoulder, then he stumbled to Jolene and grabbed her hand.

"Hang on to Sam's shirt." He demanded, waiting for her to grab a hold of Sam's sooty and dirty t-shirt before leading her out of the building. Jolene could feel the night air as soon as she and Dean passed the threshold of the building. She could hear the fire crackling and roaring as it fought to swallow the building, and she waited until Dean had led her to the Impala to release her grip on Sam's shirt. She heard Dean make a grunting sound and heard what sounded like someone squirming, so she assumed the binding she'd thrown at Sam had worn off.

"Sammy, Sam! Stop!" Dean shouted. He put his knee on Sam's shoulder to pin him to the ground, although Sam continued to fight him.

"Tuero... _tuere Sancte fortis_." Jolene murmured. She immediately heard Sam stop struggling, and Dean scowled and pulled up his brother's shirt.

"His wound is oozing black." He said bitterly. "The infection or whatever it was came back." Jolene quickly felt for the angel blade pieces in her back pocket, and was relieved to find that they were still there. They weren't humming like they'd been before Jolene had entered the building, but she was too preoccupied to really care. Dean gingerly put Sam into the back of the Impala, and Jolene took it as a sign that she was sitting shotgun again. Dean didn't say a word to her about what had happened besides asking her how her throat was and if she was okay. Every once in a while Jolene would mutter the incantations Bobby had taught her under her breath, just to make sure Sam didn't try to lash out again. She had the feeling that Dean didn't approve of her laying binding rites on his brother; but he didn't say anything.

Sam was unconscious by the time Dean pulled the Impala into the motel; and Dean had to lug his younger brother inside while Jolene followed. He loosened the belt he'd tied around Sam's hands, but kept it on just in case the younger Winchester woke up in a rage again. Dean kept a constant vigil by his brother's bed, and Jolene was too invigorated by the adrenaline and panic still thrumming through her system to go back to sleep. They waited in a very awkward silence until Sam jerked awake like he'd been hit and panicked when he found his hands lashed together.

"You okay, Sammy?" Dean asked as he carefully unwound the belt from around his brother's wrists. "Because you kind of set fire to a building."

"I- w- no I didn't!" Sam protested. Dean gave him a flat look and passed him the laptop with an online article the local news had already posted.

"I don't think they can trace it back to us; but what the hell is going on?" Dean's voice became low and hard, and Jolene debated whether or not she was allowed to fiddle with the angel blade pieces she still had in her pocket.

"I don't know. I guess it was a repeat of what happened at Bobby's." Sam murmured. "I couldn't wake up and I had no idea what was happening." Dean frowned at him and dropped his hands into his lap with a scowl.

"Sammy, I'm going to have to cut into that stab wound of yours and see if anything was or _is_ stuck in there. I'll bet you money it's demonic, and the sooner it's out the better you'll be."

Jolene left the motel while Dean played surgeon with Sam. She was uncertain about the city, especially with Lucifer avidly hunting for the Winchesters (and by extension- her); but she didn't want to be anywhere near the brothers while Dean rooted through Sam's abdomen, and she was more than ready to stretch her legs after the hours of being cramped in the Impala's backseat. Jolene clicked quietly down the main streets of Salt Lake. It wasn't too busy of a city, but it was big and fancy enough to have pedestrian signs that beeped to let people with vision problems know that they could cross the street safely. After about an hour Jolene headed back to the motel, carefully retracing her steps through the places she'd passed.

 _Left turn at the bakery._

 _Construction site on the left._

 _Two blocks._

When she made it back Sam was busy stitching up his wound and flushing it with holy water, and Dean wore a guilty but determined look.

"Found this farther into the wound." He told Jolene, holding a small black pebble no bigger than a pencil eraser between his fingers. Sam explained the rock's physical appearance to Jolene for him.

"Why would whomever stabbed you plant that?" She asked. Sam shrugged and gritted his teeth as he finished stitching up his wound. Dean tossed him a cool washcloth to dab at the stitches.

"We don't know. It'd be easier to figure out the 'why' if Cas had found the 'who'." Sam said. Dean frowned and crossed his arms.

"He tried and somehow got his ass kicked for his troubles." He said in a frosty tone, "The good thing is that it's out, so you shouldn't be blacking out, going psycho, or choking anybody else anytime soon." Sam shot Jolene a guilty look, and she could tell by the way the silence stretched out that he was trying to find the right words to apologize.

"It's okay." She said, although it really wasn't. Her throat still hurt, but she didn't want to hear a long and convoluted apology from Sam. She didn't blame him for his actions, but she was still wary of his impressive strength.

"It's not," Sam said, "And I'm so, _so_ sorry. That wasn't me." Jolene nodded, ready to move on to the next conversation. Dean helped her by clearing his throat pointedly.

"I think we need to check on Cas and see where he is." He said, "He must've sent us here for a reason, and after last night I think we need an answer." His voice sounded a little terse but very resolute. Jolene thought of the eikóna that Castiel had sent her and tried to picture Dean with his arms folded and a scowl on his face. It wasn't very hard to do.

"There's some chalk in the glove box of the Impala." Sam said, "Go grab that and we'll summon him." Dean nodded and left, then returned with a box of children's chalk clutched in his hand. He dragged the bedside table between the two beds and sketched a rough summoning circle on the surface. Jolene winced at the squeaky sound the chalk solicited against the smooth table. Sam pushed himself up and sat on one bed, and Dean stood in front of the table and between the bed. Sam looked to Jolene.

"We'll need you to help us out." He said imploringly.

"We need three people, so join in." Dean told her in a flat voice. Jolene furrowed her brow.

"Why three people?" She asked.

"Because three is a 'holy' number. Father, son, Holy Ghost. Mind, body, soul; all that jazz. And since angels are more or less a holy bag of dicks we need three people to summon one." Dean answered as he drew eight different Enochian sigils and set small bundles of herbs and items at different intervals on the summoning circle. Jolene clicked her way over to the Winchesters, and Dean slid aside for her to take a seat on the bed across from Sam. Dean grabbed hold of Sam's wrist and took Jolene's hand, so she took it as a sign to reach over to Sam and clasp hands with him.

"Sam, you do the rites," Dean said. Sam uttered a few quick words in Latin and Enochian, and Jolene was only a little miffed that the words went completely over her head. Dean let go of Jolene's hand and pulled a small lighter from his pocket. He lit one of the bundles of herbs closest to him, then quickly dropped the lighter and took Jolene's hand again. The flame consumed the bundle, then sparked and ran along the chalk lines Dean had drawn until the summoning circle was completely lit.

Dean held Jolene's hand tightly, and when her hand twitched out of uncertainty he squeezed it to remind her to stay calm. "Cas." He said, "We need you to come here. Preferably _now_." There was a half a second of apprehensive silence before something whistled into and out of the motel room with a noise like a sonic boom. The summoning circle extinguished itself, and Jolene was aware that the angel blades buzzed briefly in her back pocket. Sam blinked.

"Was that Cas?" He asked, looking around the room for the angel.

"He came and left." Dean said sourly. A flash of white caught his eye and Dean grabbed a paper note from under the table.

"It's an address." Sam said, turning and snatching the laptop to search for the address. "It's- for a school?"

"I guess he wants us to meet him there." Jolene speculated. "Maybe he doesn't want to draw anything's attention to us here. Monsters and stuff... like Lucifer... they can sense angels, right?" Sam shrugged.

"We'll go check it out later this afternoon," He said, "After we figure out a plan and get something to eat."

. . .

Sam seemed to be doing better after Dean's impromptu surgery. He had more energy, and he seemed to be making an excellent recovery.

"Turn left up here," He said, playing navigator for Dean as they perused the streets of Salt Lake City with Jolene in the back seat. She listened to the sounds of people and cars in the street with the window cracked as Dean made the turn and pulled into the parking lot of R. Brown McAllister Elementary. Jolene climbed out of the Impala and snagged the edge of Sam's jacket to let him lead her around to one of the back doors with Dean. The entire building was empty, given that it was a Saturday; but the Winchester's still chose to enter through a delivery door in the back of the school's cafeteria.

"Cas?" Dean called tentatively. Jolene could hear metal sliding against cloth, and she automatically patted her back pocket to feel for the fragments of Gabriel's angel blade.

"What is that?" She asked.

"A knife," Sam told her quietly. "It's one of a kind, Dean just has it out as a precaution."

"And where's the knife from?" Jolene whispered back. Dean turned it over in his hand nonchalantly.

"A gift from one of Sam's exes." He said slyly, ignoring the irritated glance his brother threw him.

"Cas, come on out." Dean said more loudly. "We figured out why Sam was acting so weird, and we need to plan our next move." Jolene could feel the angel blade shards heating up in her back pocket, and she began to hear the faint melodic humming she'd heard before she followed Dean into the burning building. A soft swish reached her ears and she spun around quickly, releasing her grip on Sam's jacket.

"I'm glad you all made it here safely." Castiel said. Dean spun around, brandishing the knife, but lowered it at the sight of his friend.

"Same here," He said, "And we figured out what was wrong with Sam."

"I heard you." Castiel answered him. Jolene cocked her head at the angel's tone. It wasn't menacing; but it sounded flat and apathetic, like he really couldn't care less what was going on with Sam.

"There was a small black thing stuck deep inside his stab wound," Dean explained, "I pulled it out this morning and he's been doing great ever since." Sam gave Cas a tight grin and the angel smiled back at him before frowning.

"Dean that was supposed to _stay_ in there." He said, his voice adopting a complaintive tone. Sam furrowed his brow and took a small step forward.

"What do you mean, Cas?" He asked, "I'm pretty sure that's what was causing my blackouts and-"

"And a loss of bodily function and control? Yes, Sam that's what's _supposed_ to happen." Castiel said in a voice that seemed almost exasperated to Jolene.

"Hold on- what's wrong, Cas? What's going on?" Dean asked. Jolene noted that the relief in his voice had tempered into wariness and was about to turn into anger if the conversation went south. Castiel sighed and rubbed at his temples, and Jolene was struck by how out of character he was acting. He was the naïve protagonist, always bleeding for and helping the Winchesters.

"Dean, I need you to listen." Castiel told him softly. "I only stabbed Sam because I needed to-"

"You _what_?" Dean growled, brandishing the knife again. Jolene felt a small stroke of panic jump through her system like an electric shock, and the brief thought of " _called it"_ ran through her head. Castiel held his hands up in a peaceful manner.

"I didn't intend to fatally wound him, and as you can see he's fine." He said. Sam scowled, his kindly features twisting to accommodate his anger.

"Why did you break into the safe house and stab me, then?" He asked furiously. Cas looked away from Dean to give Sam his attention.

"Crowley said-"

"Crowley? You're working for _Crowley_ , now?" Dean snarled, swiping the knife at him. Castiel easily batted the weapon out of Dean's hand; but that didn't deter the older Winchester in the slightest. Dean slammed Castiel against the cafeteria wall; or rather, Cas offered no resistance and let Dean push him backwards against the tile.

"What did you do, Cas?" Dean shouted in his face. "Did you just wander around, maybe hit up a bar while you pretended to look for who stabbed Sam?" Castiel's face stayed blank and emotionless, but Dean made up for the angel's lack of emotion with twice as much fury. Suddenly, all the emotion in his face drained out, leaving him calm, cool, and collected. Jolene could hear a cold, hard, edge bleed into his voice. It was something she'd read about in the _Supernatural_ books, specifically when Sam or someone close to the Winchesters was in danger. It was Dean's die-hard tone of merciless anger; but it was nothing like in the books. It was terrifying.

"I'm gonna kill you, Cas." He said lowly. "Unless you can pull some angelic solution out of your ass I'm gonna slit your throat. We'll see if you can kill an angel with only a piece of an angel's blade. Jolene!" He barked, startling her. "Give me a piece of that angel blade. Now!" Jolene slid her hand into her pocket, feeling the warm shards press lightly against the pads of her fingers. Sam frowned; but didn't interrupt his brother. To Jolene, it seemed like he was entrusting the situation to her.

"Jo! I want it now!"Dean growled, not taking his eyes off of Castiel's. His voice was loud and demanding, and he'd never spoken to her in such a tone. It was frightening, and it was a complete overstimulation of her senses.

"Jolene, give it!" Dean snarled. He pinned Castiel by putting his forearm across the angel's throat so he could turn to glare at Jolene. She shook her head wordlessly and gripped the shards tighter. She could feel them pulsing in her hand and heard them humming at a high pitch. It was almost enough to give her a headache paired with the adrenaline in her system and Dean's loudness. Dean growled in frustration and drew back his fist, then gave Castiel a stout blow across the face and immediately clutched his hand to his chest. Castiel's expression didn't change. He calmly reached up and pushed Dean away from him, even though Dean stumbled from the force. Sam quickly stepped forward to catch his brother, and Cas turned to face them with a frown.

"You didn't let me explain," He said. "Crowley asked me to break into the safe house and stab either one of you- it didn't matter- the piece that broke off of the blade was purposefully weak, and it was supposed to displace your soul to fill the empty spot in-"

"So I'm supposed to be grateful that you didn't stab me?" Dean asked in a voice dripping with acidic sarcasm. "Dammit, Cas you need to pick a side and stay there. No more of this wishy-washy turncoat bullshit." Castiel sighed heavily; but it didn't sound like he was morally conflicted, it sounded like he was tired and exasperated. Jolene heard a soft _whoosh_ sound, and she took it to mean that Castiel had disappeared.

"Great, he's gone." Sam said flatly. Jolene gripped the pieces of Gabriel's angel blade tighter. They still thrummed under her touch, but they weren't as warm and the humming wasn't as loud.

"He's still in the school." She told the Winchesters. "I think the angel blades sense the presence of angels and hum."

"Awesome, sounds great; but we have to find Cas." He snapped. Jolene hastily pulled the shards out of her pocket and handed one to Sam and Dean respectively.

"Do you hear it?" She asked, they both made negative sounding noises in response.

"We'll hang onto them anyway just in case." Sam told her distractedly, it was obvious his thoughts were definitely on finding Castiel. "Come on, we'll leave you somewhere safe." Jolene resisted the urge to huff and let Sam drag her down the halls of the elementary school while Dean set off to search for Cas. Sam found the teacher's lounge and kicked the door open, then pulled the couch out from the wall far enough for Jolene to crouch down behind it.

"I'll be back in ten minutes." He said, "Don't move." Jolene was about to ask him to take her with him, to let her try to fight; but he was gone before she could properly make her case. She sighed and marveled at the fact that she'd seemed to have resigned herself to staying with the Winchesters and was even willing to fight Castiel with them.

"A complete one-eighty from last night." She said to herself wryly. A loud crash echoed down the tile hallways, and Jolene hunkered down instinctively. She heard someone yell but couldn't tell if it was one of the Winchesters or Castiel. The thought occurred to her that if Castiel beat Sam and Dean, it wouldn't even be hard for him to find her; she'd stand a better chance outside the cramped teacher's lounge with all of her wits about her. Jolene flinched when she heard another crash, then steeled her resolve. She had no idea where Dean was, but Sam had promised to return within ten minutes, and Jolene's mental clock was bordering on fifteen minutes. She slowly crept out from behind the couch and clicked her way out of the teacher's lounge.

"Sam? Dean?" She whispered, hugging the wall and listening intently for any sounds out of the ordinary. She wandered around the school for a good fifteen minutes before another crash brought her stumbling into the cafeteria. She could hear the Winchesters shouting to each other and also heard Dean pleading with Castiel in a desperate voice.

Jolene hugged the wall and skirted around the edge of the fight until she reached what felt like a large metal cooler for ice cream. She began to recite warding charms under her breath and hoped that they were working.

For a second she had the feeling they were; then she had the feeling of weightlessness.

It was a full three seconds before Jolene hit the wall, and she was lucky she hadn't been thrown against the ice cream cooler by the invisible blow Castiel sent her way. Sam and Dean were too busy to attend to her, they were focusing everything they had into fending off the angel. She could hear them shout as Cas lost his patience and quickly disarmed and dealt with them. When she couldn't hear the Winchesters anymore, Jolene rallied her strength and stood up, trying to pinpoint the direction Castiel would attack her from. She pressed herself up against the wall to eliminate an attack from behind and curled her hands into fists by her face.

"That's not a very smart defensive position. Where can you run?" Castiel's voice appearing inches away from her surprised Jolene; and since she was straining her ears so heavily it sounded louder than it really was. She didn't have time to react and throw a punch before he wrapped his cool hand around her left wrist and slid his leg between her feet and the wall to knock her down.

Jolene didn't feel Castiel break her wrist as she fell, but she did feel him throw her to the ground and let her wrist flop down behind her. Then she felt it. She could also hear Sam wheezing and Dean groaning from respective spots on the floor. Castiel stepped away from Jolene, then changed his mind and leaned back down menacingly.

"You're a vessel." He growled between ragged breaths before disappearing with a shuffling sound. She stayed still until she was sure the angel was gone.

"Guys?" She asked, feeling around blindly with one arm and holding her wrist close to her chest. She could hear Sam and Dean sliding around on the floor as they moved, but her mind was in too much of a frenzy to properly locate them.

"Jolene, can you get up?" Sam asked.

"Yeah,"

"Good, 'cause we can't." Jolene scrambled to her feet and stumbled around for a second until her foot hit someone. They groaned.

"Are you okay?" She squeaked.

"Fine," Sam answered, "I'm just pinned under a minifridge." He gave Jolene vague but step-by-step instructions to help him push the small but heavy refrigerator off of his back and legs. As soon as she did, Sam sprang up and raced to Dean's side. His brother was unconscious with a bloody mark on his temple and a bleeding nose. Sam took his pulse and relaxed when it thrummed steadily against his fingers.

"Dean, Dean wake up." He said urgently. "Castiel left with both of the angel shards we had." It took a few minutes of coaxing, but Sam finally woke Dean up and hauled him to his feet. He leaned his brother on one shoulder and attached Jolene to his sleeve before slowly making his way outside of the school.


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N.- Guys, life has been hell. Literally. My mother has kind of lost her mind and is on a constant rampage, but the good thing is that my dad is actively taking me to therapy and helping me get my fluoxetine meds raised up. Hopefully things will shape up soon. Fingers crossed.**

 **Anyway, that's why I haven't been able to write/ publish in a few months. That and the fact that depression is a hell of a writer's block.**

Wayward, Ch.6

Dean seemed to be in shock, and Sam was just angry. As soon as they made it back to the motel room, Sam gently deposited Dean onto one of the beds like he had been only a few hours before and then rifled through his bag until he came up with a little bit of gauze and two tall socks.

"Here's how we'll do this," He said lowly, and it took a second for Jolene to realize he was talking to her and not to an unconscious Dean. "I'm going to bandage your wrist to try and keep it straight." Sam told her, "Then we'll put it in a sling." She didn't even realize that her left wrist was aching until Sam reached for it and she inhaled quickly between her teeth and flinched away. "You probably didn't feel it as much because of the adrenaline." Sam told her gently, like he knew what was running through her mind. He did a terrible job of splinting Jolene's swollen wrist between two pencils and wrapping it in gauze, then tied the two socks together to make an ungainly makeshift sling. After he was sure Jolene was situated and after checking on an unconscious Dean again, Sam reached for the chalk and spare herbs left over from the failed summoning of Castiel. He quickly sketched another summoning circle and began to lay out the herbs again, but a soft flutter filled the room before he was even finished. Jolene instinctively stood to face the sound, terrified that Castiel had come back.

"You really seem to be stirring up quite a bit of trouble." An English voice sighed. It didn't sound like Crowley, it was someone Jolene hadn't heard or met yet.

"We were just about to summon you, Balthasar." Sam said in a tight voice. The newcomer, Balthasar, rolled his shoulders like he was loosening up after a long trip.

"Yeah, but summoning is so frustrating. If you say the wrong words someone loses an eye, the wrong spices can summon a necromancer... you know?" His smile disappeared, "And besides, I could sense what was happening. I decided to save you the chalk and take it upon myself to come to you." He looked at Dean sympathetically and flicked his hand in the older Winchester's direction. Dean bolted upright and inhaled deeply, the blood on his face was gone. He scowled when he caught sight of Balthasar.

"Nice of you to show up _now_." He snapped. "Cas is long gone." Balthasar sighed.

"You have my apologies for my brother, he's not really a 'people person'." He said amicably, turning and sticking out his hand to Jolene for her to shake. "I'm Barachiel, fourth of the archangels and sad brother of the one who just cracked your wrist; but on Earth- and in English- I go by Balthasar." He said charmingly. Jolene's broken wrist ached in its sling as she moved to feel for his hand, and Balthasar pursed his lips.

"Let me fix that for you." He said, tapping her wrist once. It stung, but the pain was momentary. She pulled it out of the sling and flexed her hand experimentally, marveling at her newly mended wrist.

"I could fix the blindness, too." He offered, "That was my specialty as the angel of lightning and such- striking people blind, et cetera... shouldn't be hard to undo." He wiggled his fingers humorously, but Jolene shrank away from him. He seemed almost too happy to be coming to the Winchesters' aid, too hedonistically comfortable.

"I think I'll pass." She said in a voice that impressed her with its firmness. Balthasar shrugged.

"As I said- I'm Castiel's older brother." He repeated, "These two scraps already know me." He nodded at Sam and Dean, who looked less than happy to know him. "So what did Cassiel do this time?" He asked. Jolene tilted her head at what she assumed was Castiel's heavenly name.

"We don't know," Sam said frigidly, "But we think he's working for Crowley."

"We _know_ he's working for Crowley. He told us." Dean added bitterly. Balthasar pursed his lips again, losing a bit of his carefree attitude.

"Did he take anything from you?" He asked, "The demon blade, any artifacts that could be of use to Crowley?"

"He took two pieces of Gabriel's angel blade." Jolene interrupted. She heard Balthasar's quick intake of breath and took it as a bad sign.

"Gabriel gave you his blade? Why?" He asked, directing the question at both of the Winchesters and Jolene.

"He said it would give him away to Lucifer." Dean said, "And so he gave me the pieces to hang onto until he came back." Balthasar immediately held out his hand and made a sound that seemed a little too demanding to Jolene.

"I have them here." She said, pulling the remaining shards from her pocket. Balthasar took the shards into his palm gently and frowned.

"I'm amazed he gave you his blade, that's a sign of trust." He murmured.

"Well if he'd given it to anyone else they probably would have killed him with it." Dean snapped, "Explain what's going on with Cas."

"Just wait," Balthasar told him authoritatively, twirling his hand to propel his words. "We angels actually emit a high frequency sound, far too high for you humans to hear." Sam scowled at him.

"So?"

" _So_ ," Balthasar said, " _If_ you have an item that can conduct angelic frequencies, _and_ exceptional hearing, you _might_ be able to pick up on one of our sounds." Jolene frowned.

"What do they- you- sound like?" She asked. Balthasar held up a shard of the metal to her ear. It rang with a pealing sound like someone had struck a bell right next to her, a louder version of the humming sound she'd heard from the shards before. At first Jolene flinched away from the sound, then leaned back towards it gingerly to listen.

"It's beautiful." She breathed. It was haunting but melodious; and she couldn't help but want to grab the shard from Balthasar and pocket it again. He passed the piece to Sam and Dean, who held it to their ears respectively. Sam didn't hear anything, but Dean could hear a very faint ring.

" _So_ ," Balthasar continued, "Gabriel must have given you his blade because he was going into hiding and because he knew you would need it."

"He knew Cas was going to go rogue?" Sam asked suspiciously. Balthasar sighed and passed all of the angel blade pieces back to Jolene.

"Keep those handy, but keep them safe." He warned her before turning to answer Sam. "No, but there's been a bidding war going on in Heaven for the past few months. Angels in the garrison, archangels, and common angels all picking sides."

"Sides?" Jolene asked.

"Between Crowley and Lucifer." Balthasar explained like the answer was obvious. "Heaven's gates are going to open, and the angels that aren't already on Earth are going to fall. When they're down here, they'll have three choices," He held up three fingers. "One- join Crowley and fight to make him King of Hell so he'll reopen Heaven. Two- same as option one, but with Lucifer."

"And option three?" Sam interjected.

"If the angels don't pick a side or are on the losing side, they'll be obliterated. And no amount of prayers or sacred rites will bring them back." Balthasar said solemnly. Jolene shook her head.

"But I thought they can fix it." She said to Balthasar, pointing at the Winchesters like they weren't involved in the conversation. The angel sighed as his eyes reached for the ceiling not out of exasperation; but out of exhaustion.

"That's why Crowley sent Castiel ahead. He wants to make sure the Winchesters can't stop the toppling of Heaven or worse- reopen the gates. It gives him _and_ Lucifer an advantage; but if these two are gone-" He jerked his head towards the Winchesters and Dean glared at him. "Then the world goes to Hell in a handbasket, respectively." Sam pressed his lips together and frowned, but Balthasar went on before he could interrupt.

"If you two aren't there to save the day all debonair and such, the angels will turn to the next best thing that can let them back into Heaven- the King of Hell. That's not even mentioning the demons Lucifer and Crowley are both recruiting. It'll be war." He said in one breath. Jolene narrowed her eyes at him, and hoped that she looked intimidating.

"And whose side are _you_ on?" She asked. Balthasar laughed and playfully pushed her shoulder. Jolene wasn't expecting the physical contact and quickly moved to stand by Sam.

"Nobody's, right now." Balthasar told her. "And no offense, but I won't be joining your side; your odds really aren't that great. Now!" He clapped his hands and rubbed them together, and Jolene tried not to jump at the sudden noise. "Is there anything I can help you lot out with before we part ways- cure your eyesight, change the tires on that ruddy car of yours… Sam, you've got some internal bleeding. Let's fix that." Dean felt himself twisting his hands into the bedspread to keep from punching the angel. His hand had healed from the blow he'd dealt to Castiel; but he didn't have the energy to fight Balthasar, even if the angel currently meant well. He watched with a sour look as the angel gently poked at Sam and healed the wounds Castiel had given him.

"Alright, you're all patched up and ready to go anoint the next King of Hell." Balthasar said satisfactorily when he stepped away from Sam.

"No, we're going to stop Lucifer and Crowley from recruiting the angels and keep Heaven open. No 'King of Hell' stuff." Sam told him firmly. Balthasar's smile became a little forced.

"Oh, did I make it sound all future-tense? No, no, the angels are already falling. Heaven is closed. That's why I was available without a summoning circle, why Gabriel is going into hiding, and I'm guessing that's why Castiel was keeping you busy." He said in a voice charged with fake amicability.

"Are you serious?" Dean barked, "Then what do we do?" Balthasar shrugged.

"Can't say. I'm about to go underground, too. I will tell you this, though- try to convince as many angels as you can to back you. If you get some or the bigger ones on your side, the garrison angels will follow; and maybe you'll stand a chance then." He winked, and Sam frowned.

"We don't have any hope of getting angels on our side." He pointed out.

"Yeah, no offense, but you guys really are feathery bags of shit." Dean said in a voice that was meant to be offensive. Balthasar sighed, then chuckled.

"Well you've got me, so that's a start. Maybe if you track down Cas you can convert him, too." He said.

"But wait," Jolene said, "You said you weren't going to join-"She heard a small _whoosh_ , and took it to mean that Balthasar had disappeared. Her suspicions were reaffirmed when Dean began swearing under his breath.

"Well, you know what this means." Sam said in a falsely happy voice. "Another road trip."

. . .

When the Impala pulled into the driveway, Jolene heard the crunch of gravel and thought that the Winchesters had brought her back to the safe house in Illinois; but realized they hadn't been on the road that long. Nobody had spoken to each other for the entire ride. Dean didn't even blare his music. Jolene could hear how erratically he was breathing and could tell how shaken and furious he was at Castiel's betrayal.

"Where are we?" She finally asked when Sam opened the back door for her and then moved to the trunk. She could feel the sticky air of nighttime on her face and estimated that it was around ten PM.

"A safe house." He muttered, and she realized that his mood had sunk to match his brother's. Jolene accepted her duffel from Sam and slung it over her shoulder; but almost dropped it in surprise when a high pitched shriek tore through the night.

"Winchesters!"

Sam and Dean spun around instinctively, ready to fight; but were tackled by a young woman with dirty blonde hair wearing a hunting jacket. Jolene could hear the brothers' sounds of surprise, then happiness; and it prompted her to smile as well. Another set of footsteps approached, but Jolene didn't hear the Winchester's tense up or move, so she let herself relax.

"Jo, Ellen, this is… Jo." Dean said, drifting off awkwardly. Jolene decided in a spurt of confidence to offer her hand in the direction of the voices, and she was met with a warm handshake.

"I'm Ellen Harvelle, and this is my daughter Johanna." Ellen introduced herself. Johanna reached out and shook Jolene's hand kindly, Sam subtly nudged Jolene so that she faced the newcomers full on.

"Nice to meet you," Johanna said. Her voice surprised Jolene, she sounded like she was still a young adult, definitely a couple years younger than Jolene herself. Jolene tried to remember the name "Harvelle" from the _Supernatural_ books, but drew a blank.

"We need to get inside," Sam said in a suddenly urgent voice. "We've got a big problem."

"Tell me about it," Ellen said dryly. "You two are all over the news for kidnapping this girl." Jolene guessed that Ellen had nodded her head in her direction.

"It wasn't a kidnapping! God!" Dean muttered before grabbing the final bag out of the Impala's trunk and walking away. Jolene couldn't tell where he was going, so she waited for the others to follow before she latched on to Sam's jacket, occasionally clicking her way around obstacles on the ground.

Jo and Ellen led Jolene and the Winchesters into an old bar that smelled awful. Dean dropped his bags on one of the pool tables, then reached behind the bar and grabbed a beer. Johanna frowned at him, then tossed him a bottle opener.

"What happened?" She asked him carefully. He took a swig of the alcohol and waved her attention to Sam, who explained everything.

"Well shit." Ellen said flatly after Sam had finished. "I'm sorry, boys." Sam gave her his thanks, and Dean made a disillusioned grunting sound. Jolene sat on the edge of the pool table by Dean's bag, quietly listening to the sounds of the bar. She was surprised when Johanna took a seat beside her.

"How ya holding up?" She asked, passing her an opened beer. Jolene shrugged and sipped it gingerly.

"Okay. I mean, I don't like the constant danger and the reality that the devil himself is after us; but hey," She shrugged sarcastically, "What can you do?" Johanna laughed lightly.

"I'm not trying to be rude; but you're blind, right?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"Johanna!" Ellen said sharply.

"It's okay, it always comes up." Jolene said, not trying to sound rude or offended. "I am," She said to Johanna. "And you guys are Hunters, right?" She could hear Johanna straighten up proudly beside her.

"Yeah, living the ultimate dream." Ellen deadpanned. Jolene guessed that Ellen was in her thirties or forties by the weary edge in her voice, but that could have just been from the stress of hunting.

"Sam said you've been fighting with him and Dean." Johanna said, and Jolene mulled over the question until she realized that it was referring to her rites that had bound Sam and Castiel.

"Um, kind of." She said, fighting a yawn. "Bobby taught me some Latin and Greek, and I used it a little." Johanna made an impressed sound, and Ellen picked up on Jolene's weariness.

"Why don't you all get to bed, and we'll regroup in the morning. You all could use some rest." She suggested. Jolene nodded gratefully, and Dean set aside his second beer.

"We gave guest rooms in the back," Ellen added for Jolene's benefit, "It ain't called the Roadhouse for nothing."

"I'll be in my normal room." Dean said before grabbing his bag from beside Jolene and shuffling down the hall. Sam bid Johanna and Ellen goodnight, then led Jolene to an empty room.

"Sam," Jolene asked quietly,

"Yeah?"

"Are we safe here? Lucifer, Cas, and Crowley can't reach us here, right?" Sam's silence made her even more anxious until he answered her.

"We'll be fine. There are wards and charms on almost every windowsill and wall here, and Dean and I are right down the hall. You'll be fine." He told her.

"I asked if _we_ were safe." Jolene interrupted in a stronger voice. "Dean doesn't seem to be doing well. What would happen if stuff like in Salt Lake happens again?" Sam sighed.

"He does this sometimes, don't worry about it. He'll snap out of it soon enough and when we have a lead. Get some sleep." He touched her shoulder kindly, then carried on down the hall. Jolene shut the door and climbed into the already made bed waiting for her. Sam's words echoed in her head, specifically the fact that there were "wards and charms on _almost_ every windowsill and wall". She vowed to stay awake, listening for any sign of intrusion; but ended up falling asleep only a few minutes later.

. . .

"Jolene Murphy. Jolene." She recognized the voice; but it took her a minute in her groggy state of sleepiness to realize she wasn't dreaming. She bolted awake, almost breaking Castiel's nose with her forehead.

"Don't scream, Jolene." He warned her, "I'm not here to hurt you. ([Not tonight.])" It didn't matter that the room was pitch black; Jolene could tell Castiel was sitting on her bed slightly to her left.

" _Tueri Sancte fortis_ ," She whispered instinctively. She heard the angel grunt in pain sharply and then sigh.

"Be still," He said softly, tapping Jolene's forehead with the tips of his fingers.

She couldn't move.

It felt like all of her limbs were weighted down and she had to divert all her conscious effort into breathing.

"Listen to me," Castiel said lowly, "I trust you remember what I said to you before I left." He waited patiently while Jolene dug through her memory, but couldn't remember.

"I told you that you are a vessel," Cas said. "You must have been unconscious, I apologize for that." Jolene lay motionless. Her body felt like it was being crushed by whatever incantation or spell Castiel had used.

Where were Sam and Dean? The Harvelles? Had Cas subdued them too? Jolene could feel her heart and breathing accelerate, making the weight on her chest triple. Castiel's voice grew a little panicked.

"You'll suffocate yourself, slow your heart and you'll breathe easier." He said, spreading his hand delicately across Jolene's throat and willing her pulse to slow. It did, slowly.

"There," The angel said satisfactorily, "Dean is a vessel, too. To be honest, both the Winchesters are. That's why I couldn't- _didn't_ kill all of you when I left." He explained in a rough voice. "That and I felt that my higher ups would disapprove. I brought you all to the school to give you a fair chance to run from or fight me. " Jolene tried to gather enough air into her lungs to scream, groan, whimper, anything; but Castiel was anticipating it.

"Don't," He hissed, "You'll kill yourself with the effort and I'm not done speaking just yet. _You_ are a different vessel, Dean is Michael's, and Sam is Lucifer's, but you- are the vessel of the future King of Hell."

 **A.N.- Eh. Tell me what you think. This story is so haphazard I want to chuck my computer out the window sometimes.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N.- By the way, many thanks to those of you who are sticking with the story but hate Jolene so far. She's not meant to be likable just yet; but this chapter makes her more important than just the tag-along kidnappee that she was. Tell me what you think! -Madi**

Wayward, Ch. 7

Jolene began to panic. She knew next to nothing about vessels, except that Castiel's vessel was a man named Jimmy Novak. His words bounced around in her skull- _the future King of Hell_ \- did he mean Crowley? Or Lucifer? He'd said Sam was Lucifer's vessel.

"Your pulse is jumping again," Castiel murmured, slowing Jolene's breathing and heart rate again but leaving her still paralyzed.

"Don't panic, it's not going to be painful; you'll see." Jolene began to fight to move, and even though it felt like she was tearing her body apart, she began to twitch. Castiel grimaced.

"You're going to hurt yourself." He said, "Here-"Jolene could feel the pressure vanish; but before Castiel could say anything else, she screamed. Over her own voice she could hear Cas curse quietly in an old language and vanish with his trademark _whoosh_. Jolene immediately rolled out of bed and began murmuring everything Bobby had taught her while she retreated to the far wall.

Minutes later, Sam burst into the room, closely followed by Dean, Jo, and Ellen. They brandished a sawed-off shotgun and a flask of holy water in case of an intruder. Dean flipped on the lights and scanned the room until he saw Jolene pressed into the corner. She heard him coming and whispered extensive warding phrases and charms until he actually spoke to her.

"Jolene. Jo! Stop! What happened?" Dean asked.

"Castiel was here," Jolene told him shakily. "He was here." Dean's look of concern morphed into one of betrayal and frustration. Sam left the room and came back with a can of paint. He unceremoniously began painting angel-repelling wards on the corners of the windows and onto the walls while Dean guided Jolene to the bed and demanded an explanation. She relayed everything that had happened, and Sam kept an ear constantly tuned in to the conversation.

"He said I'm a vessel." She said shakily. "But I don't know what he means." Dean seemed too angry to properly speak, so Sam did.

"It's just as he said. He's going to try and use you as a vessel." He explained bluntly. Ellen gently wrapped her arm around Jolene's shoulders and pulled her close.

"He won't get you." She murmured confidently. "Don't worry."

. . .

Sam, Dean, and Jolene broke their pattern of relocating whenever a supernatural attack happened and stayed at the Roadhouse with the Harvelles for a few weeks. Castiel didn't come back, and neither did Balthasar. The wards on the bar had been doubled after the angel's visit, but Jolene still didn't feel safe. She did feel secure when talking to Johanna or Ellen, though. They were surprisingly calm, as if angels and demons broke into their home every other weekend.

Probably.

Ellen had plenty of cases for Sam and Dean to work on in between their brainstorming sessions about how to defeat Crowley and Lucifer, and they finally ended up taking Jolene with them on some of the trips to take down the hellish legions. She'd been spending much of her time learning more Latin phrases with Ellen and Jo, and finally felt confident enough to recite exorcisms and warding charms from memory. She felt very proud to be of service to the Winchesters, especially after all of the trouble she'd caused them. One more than a few occasions, she beat Sam to reciting exorcisms or a binding spell, and in doing so saved their skins.

"So what's your story?" Asked Johanna one afternoon as she and Jolene scrubbed down the bar. The Winchesters had gone out on another local hunt, and Jolene hadn't been invited. She lightly swept her hand above the counter to feel for and grab errant beer bottles, and Johanna followed behind her with a rag.

"Pretty basic." Johanna said truthfully. "I grew up in Chicago, I was an only child…had both parents… born blind." She said the last fact like it wasn't obvious, and Johanna mimicked being surprised. "My mom didn't want me to move out, she was afraid of her little baby out in the big loud world. If you haven't noticed, I'm sensitive to loud noises." Jolene added. Johanna nodded silently. "But I went anyway. I moved over to Vermont, and I took the most ironic job ever- a librarian." She could hear Johanna trying to smother her laughter and grinned. "What about you?" Johanna quickly sobered up and went back to scrubbing the bar.

"My dad was a Hunter." She said in a clipped voice, although it wasn't meant to be rude. "He was killed while on a hunt with Sam and Dean's dad." Jolene could only manage a small "oh". She also remembered a small detail from the _Supernatural_ books about someone whose father had been killed while hunting with John Winchester. Jolene made a mental note to go back and look through the books if she got back to the library.

 _When_. When she got back to the library, she reminded herself; although the urge to return home had lessened after spending so much time with the Harvelles and Winchesters.

"So then I started hunting." Johanna finished. Jolene guiltily shook herself out of her thoughts and nodded.

"I'm sorry." She said earnestly. Johanna shrugged.

"There are worse things. At least I still have my mom." She said, polishing furiously at an already spotless part of the bar. "I mean, Sam and Dean lost their mom _and_ their dad, so I guess I can count myself lucky." Jolene frowned at how thick Johanna's voice was becoming and quickly enveloped her in a hug.

"It'll be okay." She said, for lack of anything more comforting to say. She couldn't relate to Johanna's story, so she just tried to be supportive. Johanna made a small noise of gratitude, then went back to scrubbing the bar.

"I demand you leave." She shot after a moment of silence. Jolene recognized the memorization game they'd set up and realized she was trying to change the subject.

"Um, _ego a te relinquo_." Jolene said, reciting the Latin translation off the top of her head. Johanna nodded in satisfaction and chucked a beer bottle Jolene had missed into the bin on the other side of the bar.

"Recite the purging exorcism." She instructed. "In English and Latin."

" _Flammam et lucem tenebras purgabit ossa eorum periclitatur_ ," Jolene recited, "Which means… um, sacred fire will purge the bones of the dark and…"

"Bring light to those endangered." Johanna finished for her, "Make sure you understand them in both languages; it's not just memorizing the sounds, but the meanings." Jolene nodded and expertly threw a beer bottle into the bin just like Johanna had, then smiled when she heard it hit the rim. As impossible as it may have seemed, Jolene's hearing seemed to have become even more finely tuned. On the occasions that the Winchesters did take her on a hunt, she was instrumental in hearing approaching monsters before either of the Hunters did.

The sound of the door opening and slamming caught Johanna and Jolene's attention. Sam staggered in first, followed by Dean, who clutched a bloody burlap sack and slung it onto the bar.

"We just cleaned that." Johanna snapped, back to her sarcastic, sardonic self.

"I'll make it up to you later," Dean grunted, "It's been a long day."

"Did you nab the tantankororin?" Ellen asked, appearing behind the bar suddenly. Dean indicated the bag with his chin and Sam frowned.

"We had to burn an entire field of unharvested persimmon to destroy it. Its left hand is in there." He said, looking to the bag pointedly. Jolene decided not to press him for any further answers about the case.

"Well that's another of the bastards down, go us." Ellen said with false enthusiasm. She pulled beers from under the counter and slid them to everyone except Johanna, who frowned and grabbed Dean's from his hand.

It was a great night. Despite the looming apocalypse, of course. Jolene felt more than at home drinking and chatting with the Harvelles and the Winchesters. Around midnight, everyone seemed to go their different ways. Johanna and Jolene finally finished cleaning the bar, and Ellen retired to bed. Sam and Dean planned out their next week of hunts at one of the tables, and Jolene waved to them sleepily before she clicked her way to her room. She had no trouble at all falling asleep, whether it was from the alcohol or from the exhaustion of having to memorize more Latin texts.

. . .

Jolene was woken by a faint sound, barely audible even to her ears. At first she thought it was the howling of the wind outside of the Roadhouse; but when she listened more closely she heard an actual, mournful howl. Jolene scrambled out of bed, flailing a little bit when the sheets tangled her legs. She righted herself and listened again, and when she heard another howl she bolted to the door.

"This can't be happening." She muttered to herself, "Not another attack. Not again." She trailed one hand on the wall behind her and stretched another in front of her as she sped down the hallway.

"Ellen!" She shouted, "Sam! Dean! Something's coming!" She could hear Dean swearing as she passed his room and quickly backtracked, only to bump into a bleary eyed Sam.

"Jolene, what's- why are you up? What's going on?" He asked, fighting back a yawn. Jolene heard Johanna and Ellen's footsteps approach behind her, and she could sense that Dean had made it to his brother's side. She suddenly felt foolish for rousing them all, and floundered for a second to give them her reason for doing so.

"I heard something." She said, "It was faint; but-"

"Are you sure you weren't dreaming?" Ellen asked a little coldly. Jolene silently strained her ears; but didn't hear any of the howling she'd heard earlier.

"I'm not sure." She admitted finally. She heard Johanna sigh, and she felt doubly awful for waking her up. She was about to apologize when another sound hit her ears. It wasn't faint, and it wasn't a howl.

It was the snarl of an angry animal.

"Sam. _Sam_ I hear something!" Jolene said urgently, swatting at Sam like he wasn't listening. "I hear growling!" They all stood in silence, listening; until they _all_ heard multiple snarls and growls approaching in an angry horde. Everyone immediately sprang into action.  
"Shit," Dean muttered, disappearing into his room and reemerging with the shotgun and one rock salt shell and one iron shell. "They sent out the Hellhounds." Jolene stepped back, bumping into Ellen as she went.

"The _whats_?"

"Hounds. From hell. Hellhounds." Sam elaborated quickly. He and Ellen immediately began scanning the Roadhouse for signs of the approaching danger as the growls grew louder, and Jo snagged Jolene's sleeve.

"You come with me, we'll find somewhere high up." She said with undisputable authority. Jolene didn't object. She followed Johanna to a loft in the top of the Roadhouse and felt the cool night air hit her face when Jo opened the windows facing into the night.

"Here," Johanna said, pushing a sack into Jolene's arms. She gathered that Johanna had led her into almost a battlement or armory in the top of the Roadhouse.

"Help me dump salt out the windows." Jo instructed, guiding Jolene to one of the windows. "Just shake it out wherever, it'll hold them off and give Mom and the guys some time." She said before darting to the other side. Jolene quickly shook the bag out the window, and she felt it grow lighter as the salt took to the wind. The growls grew louder until it sounded like they were right underneath the window.

"Jo, they're coming!" Jolene yelled.

"Put up wards!" Johanna retorted, running back downstairs for more supplies. Jolene finished emptying her bag of salt and dropped it out the window, then gathered her concentration.

"Okay, okay- the defiled creatures- _Et polluerunt sanctum, per oppositum, quod creatura non potest transire a malo defendat venatores_!" She finished with a flourish. She heard something like a yelp and a howl, and hoped that she had deterred the hellhounds long enough for Ellen, Sam, Dean, and Jo to fortify the Roadhouse. Her hopes were dashed when she heard gunfire from the bottom level and heard someone scream.

"Johanna!" Jolene shouted on instinct. When nobody responded she steeled herself and went back to muttering wards.

"We're already in, I wouldn't waste your breath." A slightly winded voice said from behind Jolene's shoulder. She spun around, instinctively raised her hands, and shouted " _Tueri sancte fortis_!". The voice made a small pained noise, then laughed.

"I'm already hurt, there's not much else you can do to me." They said. Jolene tilted her head at the voice's accent. It was a man's voice and sounded like Balthazar's; but it wasn't as reassuring- more condescending and cold.

"Who are you?" She demanded, proud that she was facing some supernatural being on her own and hadn't been killed yet.

"Doesn't matter." It said dismissively, sounding more strained than before. "I'm running out of options, so I'll make you a deal." Jolene shifted backwards, but realized that another step would take her out the window.

"I'm not interested in making deals with monsters." She spat.

"Demons, actually; but... I digress." The voice continued, "You agree to my terms, and I let everyone down there-" It stomped its foot on the floorboards pointedly and Jolene heard more gunfire. "-Survive the night. I'll call off my hounds and the Winchesters will live to fight another day. How about it?"

. . .

"Retreat upstairs!" Dean ordered, pumping his shotgun and firing it straight in front of him. Sam threw another sheet of salt into the air, and Dean shot at the smoking heaps that briefly appeared and howled as the salt burned them. Ellen and Johanna had been fighting by the Winchesters' side shooting iron and salt rock shells and wielding iron crowbars until a hellhound had gotten too close and took a swipe at Ellen's midriff. The beast had missed entirely and ended up clawing Johanna's stomach to ribbons. Ellen hadn't done anything to stifle her own scream as her daughter collapsed into her arms and she slowly tried to drag her to safety while staunching the blood.

"Go! Now!" Dean barked. Sam threw one more layer of salt out and rushed to Ellen. He gently took Johanna's feet and helped Ellen carry her up the steep stairs to the attic. Dean followed, taking out his anger on any hellhound that dared come too close to his gun.

When they were halfway up the stairs, Sam heard a crack from the attic- like someone had snapped their fingers by a microphone- and the growling ceased. Dean saw the salt on the ground shift slightly as the hellhounds carefully retreated around it. When he was convinced they were gone, he dropped his gun and rushed to Johanna.

"Jo. Jo, no you can't- _Jo_." He panted, pushing her hair out of her face with one hand and pressing the other one over the slashes on her abdomen. Ellen sobbed, then pressed her hand to her chest to feel the deep gash that only just seemed to start bleeding.

"Ellen," Sam breathed. She stared at the blood on her hand, unsure if it was hers or her daughter's. Johanna was fading in and out of consciousness, and Dean was doing all he could to keep her awake.

"Jo, what's the first monster you killed?" He prompted. She only stirred a little bit to answer him.

"Don't... know." She murmured. Ellen fell backwards as warm blood seeped out of her chest and cold crept in. Sam caught her and tried to use her jacket as some sort of tourniquet.

"What's the first time we met?" Dean asked Johanna urgently. She could only manage a shrug. Within minutes, she'd fallen unconscious, and after a few more minutes her breathing stopped. Ellen leaned against Sam's chest and made a sound close to a whimper as she watched Dean gently hold her daughter. The Winchesters realized that there was nothing they could do, and they waited quietly until Ellen had stopped breathing.

"I'm... I'm gonna go find Jo. Jolene. " Dean said in a thick voice, quickly correcting himself and heading up the stairs. Sam gently put Ellen and Johanna's bodies on one of the pool tables side by side.

"Sammy!" Dean's shout brought his little brother to the bottom of the stairs, where he was supporting an unconscious Jolene on his shoulder. The Winchesters unceremoniously carried Jolene to a couch in the bar, then wiped their eyes and grabbed some shovels.

. . .

Sam and Dean had finished burying Johanna and Ellen, and they had shed more than a few tears over their bodies. There wasn't much to do to prepare for the funeral. Sam and Dean found a grove of trees near the Roadhouse and dug suitable graves, then filled them in and sprinkled them with salt and holy oil. Sam murmured a few small rites in Latin, and Dean gave the freshly tilled earth an empty stare.

The two of them sat in a thick and tense silence at the bar, neither willing to break the quiet. Their attention was only snagged when Jolene rolled off of the couch, clutching at her head and staggering towards them with the unattractive air of a drunkard.

"Hey," Same said, unable to muster much more than a false smile and a look of relief. "Glad you're up." Dean barely acknowledged Jolene, and that was when the Winchesters noticed that something was wrong. The first thing Sam noticed was that Jolene was looking _at_ him, she was actually seeing him. She steadied herself, then adopted an enormous grin that the Winchesters recognized only too well.

"Hello, boys." She said.

. . .

"Crowley," Sam growled. "Get out of her. Now!" Jolene spread her hands in a placating motion and smiled again.

"Relax, Moose. We have an... arrangement. Until my vessel is fixed and I have enough energy to leave her body, I get to crash; and in return I don't stab you two in your sleep." She inclined her head to include Dean; who was looking for an outlet for his grief. He looked ready to tackle Jolene to the ground and force Crowley out.

"And besides," Jolene/Crowley continued, speaking with only a slight English accent, "It's not a total takeover, look." They paused, and Jolene's eyes became unfocused and glazed again.

"Guys, I'm okay. Really." Jolene said in her normal voice. "I made this deal; and plus, I can see everything that's going on. I have complete cont-" Her gaze quickly sharpened, and her voice took on the English lilt again.

"See? No harm, no foul; and she gets to see everything I see while I'm in control." Crowley said with a grin. "And by the way- you have no idea how much unbridled genius just walked through your front door." Dean curled his hands into fists and looked like he was two steps away from performing an exorcism, but Sam beat him to it.

" _Ergo dracomaledicte-"_ Crowley winced and clutched at his head, and all at once Jolene was back in control.

"Sam, stop!" She pleaded, "He's not strong enough to leave, and an exorcism will kill us both." Sam gave her a distrustful look until he saw that her eyes were wide and unfocused. He stopped chanting the exorcism rites and threw Dean an uncertain look. His brother looked too angry to get near Crowley/ Jolene, so Sam took control of the situation.

"Jolene, can you... send Crowley back out?" He asked. Immediately, Jolene's eyes focused and looked between the Winchesters expectantly.

"Present and speaking," Crowley said pleasantly.

"So you're stuck in Jolene's body." Sam summarized flatly.

"Until I'm strong enough to go back to my previous vessel- which is honestly a slimy heap of bones right now- yes." The demon answered. Sam pressed his lips together tightly, but was interrupted by Dean before he could continue.

"So your hellhounds attacked us tonight." He snarled, "And _you're_ the reason Jo and Ellen are dead!" The shock of fear and grief that hit Jolene was enough to put her back in control again for just a second.

"You said everyone would be safe!" She growled, as if she was talking to herself.

 _"I said the Winchesters would live I didn't say anything about the others."_ Crowley's voice said condescendingly from inside her head, like she was hearing him through loud headphones.

"Yeah well he's a lying demon, get used to it." Dean spat.

"Very hurtful, Dean." Crowley scolded, seizing control of Jolene's body once again. "I thought you'd be grateful to have me." Dean wasn't even in the mood to snort and make a witty comeback, he was ready to punch something until it felt as broken as he did.

"So this means-" Sam started.

"My army has no commander. No doubt a majority of them have switched over to Lucifer's side, by now. They only rallied with me because they thought I would win. Lucifer has probably become King of Hell, now." Crowley sighed dejectedly. "And after all the souls I sold to get this far..."

"Hey, focus." Dean snapped, growing more motivated when he remembered the mission at hand. "What can we do to get you out of Jolene and back in your unshaven, beer gutted vessel?" Crowley pressed his lips together.

"There's no need to be so crass, Dean." He said. "I'm not causing her any pain or harm."

"Yeah well, excuse me for not trusting you. I'm sure I'm _really_ mistaken." Dean bit out. Crowley shrugged.

"Can't you switch into one of us?" Sam asked. Crowley pulled a face that seemed equal parts thoughtful and distasteful.

"Probably not. Remember you were already prophesized to be Lucifer's sovereign vessel, and I'm not sure I have it in me for the jump." He told Sam. "And the same goes for you, Dean; so don't waste your breath." Dean shut his mouth and scowled at Jolene until her eyes unfocused and she came back into control.

"It's going to be okay." She said in a shaky voice, "Now we technically have Crowley under supervision, so-"

"Not exactly." Crowley said, switching control with Jolene faster than the Winchesters could blink. "It's more along the lines of 'I'm stuck with you lot and have to make do'." Jolene quickly wrested her consciousness back from him.

"Stop doing that, it gives me a headache." She muttered under her breath before turning back to Sam and Dean. " _So_. Now we only have to worry about Lucifer, and maybe we can try to recruit what's left of Crowley's angels and demons?" She added hopefully.

"Maybe to the first part, and no to the last. There's no trusting angels and demons." Dean said bitterly, and Jolene had the strong notion that he was talking about Castiel.

 _"Quite interesting."_ Crowley's voice echoed in Jolene's mind. She swore and rubbed at her ears while the Winchesters looked on with concern and frustration.

"You know what... I think I need some time with Crowley to get this all straightened and figured out. Stuff like _boundaries_." She said. Sam shook his head, fighting exhaustion.

"Jolene, that really isn't a good idea-"

"It'll be fine," Jolene reassured him. "He's too weak and _pathetic_ -" She emphasized the word to make sure it stood out to Crowley, "-to do anything more than give me a headache." Sam looked to his brother for a second opinion, but Dean raised his hands with an angrily resigned expression and shrugged. Jolene retreated to her room, and all the tension from the previous night exploded.

"He used Cas," Dean snarled, "He put him up to stabbing you-" He nodded at Sam, "And to breaking into the Roadhouse. That bastard, I swear I'm going to tear him limb from limb."

"I'm ready to shoot him, too," Sam said with equal gall, "But we can't do it like this. We need him, maybe he can help us defeat Lucifer and... unbrainwash Cas." His brother snorted.

"He wasn't 'brainwashed'. He knew full well what he was doing. I'm just stupid for even bothering to trust that asshole." Dean muttered.

. . .

"You lied to me!" Jolene hissed at the empty room.

 _"I did no such thing,"_ Crowley admonished. _"Like I said, the Winchesters survived, and the Hunters running this place lived past midnight."_ Jolene scowled.

"I'm already regretting this," She snapped, "So help me God I'll exorcise you myself, regardless of the consequences." She heard Crowley's voice become just a little panicked, and it gave her a strong sense of satisfaction.

 _"You wouldn't. That would kill both of us."_

"Maybe it's worth it." She bit back. Crowley's voice gained a sly edge.

 _"But you do enjoy being able to see, don't you? Castiel told me that he showed you eikónae?"_ Jolene pressed her lips together, unwilling to admit to the demon that he was right. Despite the situation, being able to see was amazing. The only negative aspect was being able to see the pain and grief on Sam and Dean's faces.

"From now on, you're one-hundred percent honest with me, got it?" She said firmly. "And if you ever pull any wordplay shit like that again, I won't even think twice about exorcising you." She felt Crowley's amusement, and her resentment for him only grew. "The Harvelles were my friends," She said bitterly, regretting how tight her voice was becoming. "And you killed them." The demon was quiet for a minute before he answered her.

 _"I'm sorry."_

"You don't sound sorry."

 _"I'm not."_

"I swear to God, Crowley-"

 _"Please don't say_ His _name. It gives me a headache."_ He complained.

"Good." Jolene replied flatly. "And one more thing- you're not allowed to just grab control of my body whenever you want." She could feel Crowley sighing out of contempt and frustration.

 _"Fine,"_ He conceded, _"But I think you'll like having me in control."_ Jolene resisted the urge to invoke God's name again and rejoined the Winchesters, feeling an inner turmoil of grief, anxiety, fear, and relief.

 **A.N.- I DID IT. It took me months to get over my stupid writer's block and write this thing. Ugh. I'm so tired.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A.N.- I'm not dead. I'm just very tired. I luckily made it back to school, thank God.**

Wayward, Ch. 8

With the recent loss of the Harvelles, the Winchesters and Jolene were lost. They still understood what their ultimate mission was, but none of them could muster the gall or energy to bring up a plan that involved leaving the Roadhouse. After two days of sulking around the place and ransacking it for supplies, Crowley's patience finally ran out.

"Look," He said sharply, wresting control from Jolene and staring the Winchesters down harshly. "You can't mope around here and let everything else go to Hell- pardon the pun. I don't know about you, but I'd rather be out of this dump and taking my frustrations out on some supernatural entities. Wouldn't you?"

 _"I also can't wait to get out of this body."_ He muttered to himself. Jolene frowned and rubbed at her temples. She had become a little better at hiding her thoughts and emotions from Crowley, but every once in a while she'd slip up and the demon could read her mind like a book. He on the other hand controlled his thoughts with such precision that whatever she heard from him was specifically meant for her. Through Crowley's eyes, she saw that Dean was glaring at her.

"Easy for you to say." He spat, " _You_ killed them." Sam didn't chime in with his brother, he just stared angrily at the scratches on the bar. Crowley seized control of Jolene again.

"Then why not be more proactive?" He prodded. "Use that ridiculously righteous fire of yours and smash your way through some demons! It's not like we don't have our heading, either." He added a little more quietly.

"You know?" Sam snapped. "You know where we're supposed to go? Why didn't you tell us before!" Crowley spread his hands and leaned back.

"I thought we were still grieving." He said coyly. Dean clenched his fist and resisted the urge to punch him. "I've had your gay angel scouring the country for any sign of Lucifer's… campaign." Crowley continued, "He should be back any day now, but that doesn't mean we can't still get a move on."

"Yeah? In which direction?" Sam asked bitterly. Crowley pursed Jolene's lips and rolled her eyes.

"Think, Moose. You found this one in Vermont-"He jabbed his thumb at himself to indicate Jolene, "Then you went to the Illinois safe house, Singer's place for a bit, and then to this dump. "Did it ever occur to you that you're being led West?" He asked. Jolene mustered her strength and took control of herself again.

"That does make sense." She said, "We did double back here a little bit; but what if Lucifer is planning something on the West Coast?" Sam mulled the idea over for a minute, while Dean scoffed and downed what seemed like his hundredth beer.

"Then let's contact _Castiel_ -"He spat the angel's name, "And find out where Lucifer is, then kick his ass again and restore the world to its previous balance, et cetera, et cetera." Jolene didn't need her eyes to see how angry and hurt Dean still was by Castiel's betrayal. His voice reeked of venom and resentment. Crowley turned the conversation back to him and scoffed.

"Don't be daft, we can't just storm over there. Not while he's got _my_ troops, his troops, _and_ the angel garrison on his side." He said condescendingly. Jolene snatched control back from him for a second.

"Why not get our own army together?" She suggested, ignoring Crowley's discontented noise he made inside her head. "Gabriel would fight with us, wouldn't he? And Balthazar? What about Bobby and the other Hunters around the country?"

 _"A very sweet and romantic thought, but they'd all be reduced to dust."_ Crowley reminded her scornfully. _"But, if you insist on being stupid…"_ The demon quickly took control of Jolene again and made her walk to one of the windows with an angel banishing sigil on it. He used her nail to gingerly scratch at the red paint until the seal was broken, then cleared his voice and called out.

"Castiel!"

There was only a split second of silence before Castiel appeared with his trademark _whoosh_. Sam gave the angel a distrustful look, while Dean downright glowered at him over a new beer. Cas looked awkward, almost bashful and apologetic, to Jolene. She made sure to keep the thought away from Crowley, not willing to put up with his condescending teasing and wheedling.

"Good to see you, Castiel." The demon said jovially, like he was greeting an old friend. "Come over and sit down!"

"I would rather not," Cas answered, eyeing Dean a little nervously. Crowley shrugged.

"You've been busy, why not tell us what you've been working on for me?" He prodded. Jolene saw Castiel's expression darken into something bitter, like he regretted his actions; but he lifted his chin and quickly regained his composure.

"Lucifer has been winning over more angels from the garrison," He said, "Over half of them have joined his cause in Crowley's absence."

 _"What about the big seven you told me about? Those archangels?"_ Jolene asked. She felt Crowley's disdain echo through her head like a headache.

 _"They don't have the gall to make a decision on their own. You only have a few exceptions like Gabriel, Balthasar, and that one._ " He told her, staring pointedly at Castiel. _"An angel who makes decisions for themselves is rare. They follow the pack."_

"How about we gather Gabriel and Balthasar?" Jolene said, forcefully switching places with Crowley before he knew what was happening. "We have angel shards, maybe we can use them and… I don't know, fight back?"

"I still have my angel blade." Castiel supplied, "And I'm certain Balthasar hasn't relinquished his."

"Maybe if the other angels see Gabriel and Balthasar on our side, they'll switch and join us." Sam intoned; but it didn't sound like he truly believed in the idea.

"It can't hurt." Castiel replied. "Would you rather create a circle and summon them or should I call them?"

"Nobody said we're doing anything yet, Cas." Dean said firmly. Jolene thought the angel looked a little relieved to be addressed by his name, as if it was a sign he was moving towards forgiveness.

"Oh please, just call them already!" Crowley snapped, wresting control back again and crossing Jolene's arms.

"You know what? This isn't helping." Dean snapped, "Let's just get out of here and _do_ something." His statement was vague; but Sam understood. He wanted to vent his grief about Jo and Ellen. He wanted to hunt.

"How much time do we have before Lucifer makes another major move?" Sam asked. Crowley looked to Castiel expectantly, and the angel took a deep breath.

"He's gathering his forces in Oregon. I'm not sure where, but the state is crawling with monsters he's surrounded himself with. It will take a while to punch your way through them, so the sooner we get started the better." He said.

"That didn't answer his question." Dean muttered. "Let's just go." Jolene switched control with Crowley and was surprised at how easily he let her step up.

"Ellen still had cases lined up for us," Jolene piped up, "Let's find the ones that lead to Oregon and work our way through. They have to all be connected to Lucifer somehow."

"You know what? Sounds great." Dean said flatly. He raised his palms and dropped them on his thighs with a finalistic smack. "We have some kind of plan. Let's _go_."

. . .

There wasn't much to pack. The majority of the things that went into the Impala's trunk were Hunters' items scavenged from around the roadhouse. Crowley refused to let Jolene have control and demanded that he oversee the packing. She knew it was suspicious, but she couldn't read his thoughts well enough to see why he was being so specific and paranoid.

After all the necessities were packed away, Crowley finally let Jolene come back to the controls. She very quickly snagged Castiel's coat sleeve and dragged him to the Impala with her. She could hear Dean and Sam's disdain in the disgruntled sounds they made; but she insisted that the angel ride in the back with her.

"Where is our first case?" He asked with an air of fake pleasantry. Sam grabbed a manila folder and dropped it over the seat into Castiel's lap. Jolene waited patiently for him to read the file to her.

"An abduction in Casper, Wyoming?" He murmured. "I believe that fits the term of irony."

"What are the details?" Jolene asked.

"Amira Cho's granddaughter Eliza Parkinson was abducted a few weeks ago. Apparently due to a ritual the granddaughter was performing. Local authorities wrote it off as Chinese superstition." Castiel read mechanically. "When Cho called the police, she was repeatedly muttering about the 'Midnight Man'." Jolene felt a surge of giddy delight from Crowley.

 _"This is going to be excellent!"_ He crowed.

 _"You sound like you know him."_ Jolene replied. Her response did nothing to quell Crowley's excitement.

 _"Not personally. It circulates and spends its time in Purgatory. I've seen it before."_ He said. Jolene tried to prod him for more answers, but all she got was a smug silence.

"And we're off to Wyoming." Sam murmured. "What a joy."

After that, Sam and Dean were quiet. Jo and Ellen's deaths continuously hung over everyone like a heavy shroud. Dean didn't even play music as the Impala slid down the road, he just stared out the windshield with an expression that was three parts guilt, one part anger. Johanna leaned her head against the window in the backseat, feeling the vibrations of the road rattle her teeth and making her eyes feel fuzzy.

. . .

Amira Cho's home was small and modest, and while the Winchesters and Castiel tried to kindly interrogate the old woman; Jolene let Crowley have control so she could get a good look at the house. It looked like a bungalow from the 1950's had been perfectly preserved in time. There were pictures lining every mantelpiece and shelf of what Jolene guessed was Cho's family. Quite a few of them depicted the same girl, and she knew that it was the missing granddaughter. It didn't take long to explore the place, and soon she found herself back in the foyer with the rest of her party. Apparently Amira spoke very little English and preferred to talk in her native tongue, which had created a bit of a translation issue.

"Don't look at me, I don't speak Mandarin." Sam said. Castiel cleared his throat and stepped forward, wary that he still wasn't back in the Winchesters' good graces.

"Allow me." He gently touched the old woman's hand. His next words were in indecipherable Mandarin, and the Amira immediately responded to him. Cas turned back to the group and spoke a few more words in Mandarin. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Can't understand you, Cas." He snapped. Jolene heard Crowley scoff inside her head.

 _"How sweet, he was trying to be cute and win back brownie points with Dean."_ He said mockingly. Jolene frowned and put up a mental barrier between her thoughts and the demon's.

"She said the Midnight Man came and took her granddaughter." Castiel summarized. "She'd caught her trying to start the 'game' before; but with her recent decline in health she was unable to stop her most recent attempt. If you fail the game, it takes you."

"Ask her how we can summon it!" Crowley said eagerly.

" _Don't sound so enthusiastic."_ Jolene scolded him. Castiel spoke to the woman again; but she rocked herself back and forth and shook her head. Jolene could feel Crowley's patience waning, and she could feel him tapping her foot to express it.

"She won't tell us." Castiel told him. Crowley groaned.

"If I could, I'd jump inside of her and get the answer." He muttered.

"Shut up," Dean growled. "Can you ask her again?" He said in a calmer voice, directly speaking to Castiel for about the third time since the angel's return. Cas nodded, and Dean knelt in front of the old woman with an earnest look.

"Ma'am, I need you to tell us how to summon the Midnight Man." He said slowly, as Castiel translated over his shoulder. Amira shook her head and muttered a reply, which Castiel translated as a warning about their safety. After a few more minutes of prodding, the old woman conceded and gave them the instructions.

"We'll get your granddaughter back." Dean promised her. Amira shook her head.

"No come back after Midnight Man." She whispered.

That didn't need translation.

. . .

At 11:45, Dean, Sam, Castiel, and Jolene and Crowley gathered in the Cho's living room. The grandmother had been suitably moved to a nearby hotel for her own safety, leaving the house completely empty. Sam and Dean spread out a scrap of paper, four candles, multiple packets of table salt, and a handful of lighters.

"Here's how it's going to go," Sam explained, "I'll write my name on the paper-"

"I'm doing it." Dean interrupted coldly. Sam didn't bother to try and argue with him.

"Fine. Dean'll write his name on the paper, then he'll stain it with a drop of his blood. We're going to put the paper in front of the front door, light a candle over it, and knock on the door until it's midnight. We'll blow out the candle, open and shut the door, then light all the candles and go through the house. After we open the door, the Midnight Man will be in the house. Keep your candles lit, it's the most important part." Sam cautioned. "Your candle will flicker or go out if it's near you. If it gets too close, make a ring of salt around yourself and stay there until we find you. If we're lucky, we'll kill this thing before 3:33 AM when it disappears and we'll bring back Eliza."

"Oh please," Crowley huffed, "Just give me the bloody candle." He held his hand out expectantly; but Sam frowned.

"I want Jolene in control." He demanded, "She'll be able to hear it coming, and you'll be able to sense it. Having eyesight won't be much use in the dimness anyway." Jolene felt the demon's disbelief, and even a touch of his fear as he processed the orders.

"She's going to get lost!" Crowley protested lamely, "Or whack her head on a bookshelf!"

 _"You heard him._ " Jolene thought smartly, exchanging places with a reluctant Crowley and joining the conversation.

"Are you going to bitch and complain or are we going to get this done?" Dean asked impatiently. He'd already scribbled his name onto the paper, and a bright red dot was already bleeding into the paper. Sam and Castiel followed him to the door, where they lit a candle and began to knock on the door. Jolene waited patiently, listening to the knocks reverberate through the wood. As soon as the big clock in the foyer struck twelve, Dean blew out the candle and Sam slammed the door shut twice.

"Go, go!" He shouted, lighting the candles and pushing one and a lighter into Jolene's hand. Castiel politely refused a candle and ignited a small ball of light in his hand, then retreated into the depths of the house. Sam and Dean lit their own candles and split up, each of them holding a lighter tightly in one hand and a fistful of salt packets in the other.

Jolene clicked her way quietly through the house, trying to remember what she'd seen on her tour. As soon as she split away from the group, she realized what a mistake it was to have Crowley in the backseat. She had to navigate through the house by tapping her foot tentatively in front of her or by clicking, and both methods made too much noise.

 _"You're going to get us both killed. Or worse."_ Crowley commented blandly.

 _"You can't die, shut up."_ She fired back. She felt a tingle run down her spine, and only realized it was Crowley feeling fear when she heard a hiss behind her. She felt the flame on her candle disappear, and she quickly fumbled for the lighter in her other hand.

 _"No time for that, you idiot! Run!"_ Crowley roared in her head. Jolene leapt forward, and the noise behind her followed. It tried to pounce after her, but she changed directions, moving like a boat tacking into the wind.

 _"The salt! Use the salt, dammit!"_ Crowley shouted. Jolene quickly reached for the salt packets, but realized that Sam hadn't given her any in his haste to begin the ritual. She sprinted through the house until she didn't hear the hiss over her shoulder. She fumbled with the lighter until it sparked a flame, then burnt herself lighting the candle; but successfully got it lit.

 _"Forget running around and avoiding it. Find somewhere where you can have your back to a wall."_ Crowley ordered. Jolene quickly obeyed and pressed herself into a corner, straining her ears for the hissing of the Midnight Man. She heard Dean and Sam shout, then heard gunshots. She huddled farther into the corner, then remembered that she wasn't as helpless as she used to be.

 _"No. This is no time for heroics. You need to keep me safe! I know what it can do!"_ Crowley snapped. Jolene ignored him and stood up straight.

" _Veni ad me, et invenietis. Bastard._ " She snarled. She felt Crowley's disbelief resonate through her.

 _"You told it to come and find you!"_ He said incredulously, _"And you_ swore _at it!"_ Jolene heard the creature howl in anger, and she steadied herself. She could hear its feet sliding on the hardwood floor as it scrambled to find her.

 _"You'd damn well be ready for this."_ Crowley growled.

"Some help would be welcome." Jolene snapped at him. The hissing and growling grew louder, and Jolene quickly began reciting Latin phrases. She could hear Crowley murmuring to himself, and found that her stamina was doubled, and a crackling electric barrier was erecting itself around them. The Midnight Man rounded the corner and slammed full tilt into the barrier. It held, but only for a second. The barrier hadn't completely sealed itself off, so the creature broke it with its momentum. It crashed into Jolene with a screech, and for once she was relieved that she didn't have her eyesight. She could feel cool leathery skin and sparse hair under her fingers as she grappled with the Midnight Man, and she could feel Crowley struggling to lend her enough energy to fend it off.

" _Retro satana_ ," She gasped, pushing the creature back just a little. It tried to swipe at her, and narrowly missed Jolene's throat with its claws. She kicked out and hit the thing in its stomach. It lurched backwards and gave Crowley enough time to quickly take control and blast the Midnight Man backwards with a huge surge of force.

 _"Enough!"_ Castiel shouted, pulling the Midnight Man up by the scruff of its neck and tossing it across the room. It regained its balance and landed on the wall like a spider, then scuttled onto the ceiling. Jolene struggled to her feet and held her hands out.

 _"_ _Et polluerunt sanctum, per oppositum, quod creatura non potest transire a malo defendat venatores."_ She murmured. The creature hissed and leapt at Castiel, who batted it aside like it was an errant bug. It turned around and took another leap into the air; but was picked off and thrown to the ground by Sam's shotgun. Sam pumped the shotgun and fired another round into the Midnight Man. Dean rushed in with the knife he'd spoken to Jolene about and stabbed the monster in the chest. It shrieked and dissolved into a pile of ash on the ground. Sam poured salt on top of the ashes and mixed them, then light a match and lit the pile on fire. It smoldered until there was nothing left.

"Wait!" Jolene cried, "We didn't get Eliza!" She felt Crowley's smug satisfaction again, and it quickly turned her disbelief to anger.

"You knew we couldn't get her back!" She snarled, not bothering to speak inside her mind.

 _"I never said that, just be lucky we're both alive."_ Underneath the demon's cocky demeanor, she could tell how drained and tired he was. He had expended himself trying to give her power to fend off the monster, and it had taken almost everything he had.

"Amira said there is no coming back after being abducted by the Midnight Man." Castiel reminded her.

"Yeah but don't we live to prove that kind of stuff wrong?" Jolene replied hotly.

 _"You said 'we'."_ Crowley observed weakly. She could feel him struggling, and exhaustion began to gnaw at her mind as well.

"We do." Dean said; "And maybe there's a way to get her back when we face Lucifer; but we knew going into this that we wouldn't be able to save her."

"That would have been nice for you to tell me." Jolene snapped.

"It's not like I _enjoy_ leaving someone behind!" Dean returned.

"Well, you sure seem to make a habit of it!" She spat back at him. Dean stood up, and although Jolene couldn't see, she knew he was towering above her.

 _"Enough!"_ Crowley roared, the sound was deafening inside Jolene's head, and she stumbled for a second out of sheer exhaustion.

"Let's just… let's just call Amira." She said, "We'll tell her what happened and tell her we exorcised the Midnight Man."

. . .

Jolene didn't want to be around when the Winchesters delivered the bad news to Amira Cho. She knew there'd be tears and sobs, and she was too tired and drained to be a part of it. Sam and a highly chagrined Dean had sent Jolene to a nearby motel with Castiel as protection. She tried to help him paint sigils on the windowsills; but ended up muttering a few cloaking phrases in Latin and falling asleep instead.

When she woke up, Sam and Dean were passed out on the couch and guest bed respectively. Castiel hadn't seemed to move from where he was the night before. He sat ramrod straight with his hands folded in his lap and stared out the window aimlessly.

 _"Crowley?"_ Jolene called tentatively. She waited for an answer but got only silence in return. She assumed the demon was resting and decided to leave him alone.

"It's good to see you awake." Castiel said, startling her with his voice. "I… I'm sorry that we parted on such… ill-paired terms."

"You mean by breaking my wrist?" Jolene asked a little icily, "No problem." Castiel cocked his head to the side and tried to detect the sarcasm in her voice. "Really." She said, "I'm still furious with you; but Balthasar fixed it right after." Castiel inclined his head in a mix of an apology and acknowledgement. "Sam and Dean are still pissed at you, though." Jolene added.

"I know." Cas answered. "And I do regret my actions." Jolene frowned.

"That doesn't fix it." She reminded him coldly. "People died because of what you did."

"They always do and they always will." Castiel told her. "That's what humans call 'taking a chance'." Jolene didn't know how to respond to him, so she bit her tongue and stayed quiet.

"Do you know how Mrs. Cho took the news?" She asked after a while. Sam had begun to snore, and the sound was loud to Jolene's sensitive ears.

"I suspect she didn't take it well." Castiel surmised, "I don't know who would." Jolene took a moment to reflect on what she knew about Cas from the _Supernatural_ books. She had no idea where they were in the storyline of the books; but Castiel was much farther along morally than he had been when he'd first been introduced into the series. She decided that the angel truly had developed a sense of morals, and she saw that as grounds to forgive him. A little.

"You were very kind to me the other night." Cas said. "Thank you for bringing me into Dean's car." Jolene shrugged ambiguously.

"You looked like a sad puppy." She said with a glimmer of humor. "And I thought that by bringing you in, the guys would start to slowly forgive you. I haven't been through as much with you as they have, so it may take a little more time for them." She told him in a kinder voice.

"Thanks for speaking for us." Dean said blearily. Jolene started at the new voice, then was overwhelmed by guilt.

"Dean, I'm sorry about what I said last night," She babbled, "I wasn't-"

"Save it." He said shortly, "I don't want to hear it right now." He stood from the couch and brushed himself off, then retreated to the bathroom. Jolene gave Castiel a pained look, understanding how awful it was to have one of the Winchesters angry at them; much less both.

"At least he said he didn't want to hear it 'right _now_ '. Perhaps he'll hear you out later." Castiel told her hopefully. Jolene frowned, then felt a little stir in her consciousness as Crowley began to wake up.

 _"Oh thank God."_ Jolene said. _"I didn't know what had happened, I thought you were dead or something."_

 _"This coming from the woman who told me to 'shut up' because I 'can't die'."_ Crowley replied cheekily. He sounded exhausted to Jolene; but at least he had a fair amount of gall to be obnoxious so early in the morning. Dean came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and grabbed his jeans and clothes, then retreated into the bathroom again. Castiel, who didn't realize that he had been staring, blinked repeatedly.

 _"He's so smitten it's revolting."_ Crowley said in disgust.

 _"If you're feeling good enough to be a jerk, you can go ahead and take control so I can see for a while."_ Jolene told him smartly, bricking up a mental wall to block the demon's obtrusive thoughts. Dean reemerged from the bathroom and shook Sam awake, then sat as far away from Cas and Jolene as he could while he waited for his brother to get ready. It was another time Jolene was grateful she couldn't see, she didn't want to see how hurt or angry Dean looked.

"Alright, let's pack up and hit the road." Sam said with false enthusiasm. "We have another monster on the other side of Wyoming."

"Fine. Let's go." Dean said, grabbing his bag and striding outside. Jolene hadn't realized that he'd already packed up. Castiel quickly helped her gather up her things, then let Sam lead the way out the door. The angel and Jolene shared a grimace made of embarrassment and regret, then stepped outside to join the Winchesters.

 **A.N.- This came together quickly, which I'm really grateful for. I found out that there's been a huge lie in my family, and it's killing me. Like… whoa. Anyway, let's just cross our fingers and hope that it blows over painlessly and I get a huge spurt of creativity. Ehh.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A.N.- A lot of bad decisions have been made; I'll leave it at that. My current career is on hold, and my family is crumbling from the inside out (did that sound poetic AF or what?). Updates on all my stories will be sparse; but I hope you'll all have the loving patience and support that you always do for me and stick with it.**

 **Enjoy.**

Wayward, Ch. 9

The car was quiet, save for the quiet rumble of the tires as the Impala peeled down the road. Dean seemed to be driving at a furious rate, and Jolene estimated that they'd be across Wyoming in no time.

 _"It's funny to watch you simmer in guilt."_ Crowley commented inside Jolene's head. She sent him a bitter feeling, then tuned him out. She could hear the angel shards in the trunk of the Impala, they'd been humming since Castiel had returned. Jolene focused on the melodic shards, which was a welcome distraction from her thoughts. She dozed on and off for a while, then at Crowley's insistence, let him take control so he could count the mile markers by the road. After a while, she felt a small nudge at her consciousness that felt nothing like Crowley's impatient and obnoxious presence. It felt gentler, but stronger- like the swell of a wave near a sandbar.

 _"Cas?"_ Jolene asked cautiously. The angel didn't give her a verbal reply, but she felt that it was him. Jolene felt a sharp pang in her chest and realized that she was feeling Castiel's frustration and seething anger underneath his sadness and regret. The swirl of emotions caught her off guard and winded Jolene for a moment. She felt Crowley's amusement in the back of her head.

 _"I'm much more cultured, at least I speak to you through words in your mind. Castiel is… what's the word… soft. He uses pictures and 'feelings'."_ The demon sneered the last word, and Jolene mulled over the information. She decided to test the limits of her new abilities through Crowley and gently reached out with her mind. She could feel Sam and Dean's presences in the front seat; but she couldn't read their minds, speak to them, or see what they were feeling.

 _"It's because they're not supernatural- pardon the pun."_ Crowley said, externally rolling Jolene's eyes and counting another mile marker as it sped by. Jolene diverted her energy into trying to contact Castiel, instead. Through Crowley's vision, he looked like a statue staring out the window of the Impala; but Jolene could sense some sort of presence… she didn't want to call it an aura; but that was what she was compelled to name it.

 _"Oh please, and now you're a psychic?"_ Crowley scoffed, _"By all means, try and speak to him."_ Jolene could feel the demon's amusement as he waited for her to move. She tentatively reached out, then caught her breath at the psychedelic blend of feelings Castiel was experiencing.

He was overjoyed to be back with the Winchesters, that emotion expressed itself in a swirl of bright green; but his regret at even thinking of working with Crowley stormed around in a dark purple hue. _Like a storm cloud_ , Jolene thought.

There was a large amount of gold, which she took to be his angelic power. Jolene felt rather than saw an amazingly bright dash of turquoise that she instinctively knew was Castiel's loyalty. It was bright and seemed to blend into the joyful emotions; but every once in a while, purple regret and a swirl of red anger would tear through it. To Jolene's amazement, the turquoise blob continuously reformed. It was fascinating to watch. Jolene tried to probe further; but was violently thrown back into her own head when everything turned a fiery shade of orange.

" _Oh, you just startled him."_ Crowley said disdainfully, _"Don't get panicky. He's a 'visual learner', send him a picture or something."_ Jolene thought for a second about what she could send Castiel that doubled as an apology, but ended up picturing some of the trash in the floorboard of the Impala and sending him that instead. The angry vortex of orange dimmed to a light pink that Jolene guessed was amusement, and Castiel painlessly sent her a picture of what she looked like with Crowley pressing her face against the window.

" _Don't get cute, Castiel."_ Crowley snapped, slumping in the seat and crossing Jolene's arms. _"We were just experimenting with our powers."_

" _Remember,"_ Jolene told the demon sharply, _"You're out of my head as soon as you're strong enough. I don't care who you jump into next; but you have_ got _to get out."_ She could feel Crowley using her mouth to smirk, and the thought disgusted her.

" _I thought you liked having me in control,"_ He commented, _"You can chat with angels and demons using your mind. And you can see. In my defense, I do deserve a thank you."_

" _You don't deserve jack."_ Jolene hissed at him. She could feel the purple hue in Castiel growing and assumed he was listening in on their argument. _"You killed the Harvelles, don't forget that. And don't think I will."_ She added. In truth, she'd begun to enjoy Crowley. Seeing was better than anything she could have ever wished for; but she had to remind herself that a murderer was residing in her head.

" _I could kill you right now,"_ Crowley growled. His voice sounded like it was right in Jolene's ear. _"If you hadn't been such an idiot when we were against the Midnight Man I'd be_ that _much closer to jumping and leaving your crippled body behind."_ Jolene felt Castiel swirl with orange anger again and she did her best to keep herself calm.

" _Right now you can't,"_ She reminded him in a lofty voice, _"So why not shut up and sit in the back for a while?"_ She spitefully wrested control from the demon, and he didn't bother to try and fight back. Jolene could feel him retreating into her mind to mutter curses and obscenities. Even though she'd lost her sight for the moment, Jolene enjoyed being in control of her body again. Castiel gently, almost tenderly, like he was afraid he'd break a human so much smaller than him, reached over and patted her knee in a reaffirming way. She smiled at him tightly, then sat in her thoughts and listened to the Impala as it sped on its way.

. . .

Jackson, Wyoming was very underwhelming. The town straddled the line between Wyoming and Idaho; and as Crowley put it there was nothing but "dirt, rocks, a shrub, and more rocks". The Winchesters split up; Dean had gone to find a motel and Sam went in search of a local library. There was a brief but silent debate about who should go with whom; but Jolene ended up going with Dean because Castiel's eyes would be "more useful" in the library and Jolene wasn't ready to let Crowley have control again.

The entire time she followed Dean around, she ruminated in guilt. She'd only said a few harsh words to him; but they'd done their damage. He barely spoke unless he was pulling her out of an intersection and muttering under his breath. Jackson was very wide and _very_ flat, so Jolene had a hard time clicking her way through the town. After almost wandering onto a set of train tracks, Dean made her grab his sleeve so he could lead her around.

To Jolene, that just made it worse.

She mulled over thousands of ways to apologize to the older Winchester; but they all failed on the tip of her tongue right as she was about to say them. She could feel Crowley relishing in her frustration; but purposely ignored him to avoid his snide attitude. Finally, Dean found a motel, and after he'd bought a room and settled in it, Jolene decided to wing it.

"Dean, I'm sorry I yelled at you last night." She said, hurrying to get her words out before he could interrupt her. "I was tired, Crowley was tired-"

 _"Leave me out of this, witch."_ Crowley spat with sudden vehemence. Jolene blinked, then continued.

"I shouldn't have blamed you for not getting Eliza back. I know it probably sounded like I was blaming you for Jo and Ellen's deaths, too." She added quickly. She heard Dean's sharp breath at the Harvelles' names, and she hoped she hadn't overstepped a boundary by bringing them up again.

"I'm sorry." She said after Dean didn't answer her. "Dean. I really, really am sorry."

"Fine." Dean said gruffly, standing and leaving the motel room and effectively stranding Jolene in a motel in the scenic wide plains of Wyoming.

 _"You could have done better."_ Crowley said in a mockingly pleasant voice.

"Shut up." Jolene snapped aloud. She didn't care that she was venting her frustration at the demon. It felt good, and he was bad. It balanced out in her eyes. She put up a wall against Crowley and sat by herself, which wasn't too enjoyable.

. . .

Dean came back after a while. Jolene heard the door unlock and instinctively hoped it was him. She was ready for the argument with him to blow over and be resolved. The older Winchester kicked the door shut behind him, and Jolene heard the crinkling of grocery bags.

"Here, I got you dinner." Dean said gruffly. Jolene held her hands out, ready to catch anything tossed her way; but Dean simply placed a takeout box in her hands.

 _"I guess he's over it."_ Crowley said, worming through Jolene's wall and making himself at home in her thoughts. _"Lucky you."_

Sam and Castiel returned about an hour later; and from what it sounded like, they had their arms full of old newspapers and books. Sam dropped his on one of the extra beds with a groan, and Castiel neatly arranged his pile on the table.

"Guess what we found at the library." Sam said sourly. He tossed something towards Dean, and Jolene tilted her head.

"No way, another damn _Supernatural_ book." Dean said in a voice that was more bemused than angry. Jolene could hear him thumbing through the book and found herself wishing that she'd continued to read the series.

"Oh. Oh, that's not good." Dean murmured. He passed the book to Sam, who winced and flipped through a couple more pages.

"What? What's wrong?" Jolene asked.

"You're in the book." Dean told her. She sat back and grinned.

"That's great! I've always wanted to be in a book." She could tell by the silence between the Winchesters and Castiel that she hadn't reacted appropriately.

"If you'd kept reading the _Supernatural_ books, you'd know why this is bad news." Dean said tightly. "Like you said, people we run into get killed. And if you're with us long enough to make it into a book…"

"Then you're either very important or will die very soon." Castiel told her solemnly. "Or both." Jolene felt her smile slide from her face and a heavy feeling enter her stomach.

 _"Oh dear, what sad news."_ Crowley said mockingly. Jolene didn't even bother to rebuke him.

"What does it say about me?" She asked. Dean hummed and flipped through the book.

"Not much. It covers us meeting you, Jo, Ellen… all the way up to- oh my _God_ you're kidding me!" He snapped. Sam looked over the book again and groaned.

"Maybe it'll be a good thing." He said in a voice that didn't sound hopeful at all. "He's helped before."

"What did it say?" Jolene asked impatiently. Dean closed his eyes to compose himself and Sam sighed.

"It says we're going to run into Gabriel, and he helps us with the shards." He told her solemnly. Jolene quirked an eyebrow at him, eager to get back to her role in the books.

"Okay. He bought us time with Lucifer though, right? So he can't be that bad." She said.

"He's either a hindrance or an ally, but it's hard to tell sometimes." Castiel mused. "Did it go into detail as to where we'll meet him?" Jolene could hear Sam take the book and thumb through it, only to snap it shut with a dissatisfied sound.

"No, it ends with him finding us here in Jackson. So we just have to wait." He said. "Dean, what about that murder we were looking at?" Jolene could feel his urge to change the topic, and she wondered if it had anything to do with her newfound presence in the _Supernatural_ books.

"Jackson Mitchell, age 37. His throat was slashed with what looked like bear claws, although no bears come this close to town." Dean replied in one go. It sounded like he was reading the information off of a card or newspaper.

 _"There are bears in Wyoming?"_ Crowley asked sardonically. Jolene willed him to shut up. The rustle of newspaper confirmed Jolene's suspicion and subconsciously sharpened her hearing.

"His sister, Julie Mitchell still lives in town." Dean read. "She's distraught and all kinds of sick with grief."

"Well, that's to be expected." Castiel intoned. "If one loses a family member, you can expect-"

"No, Cas." Dean interrupted. "She's physically ill. After her brother went missing, she started coughing up what the paper says was 'odd colored blood' and had to be hospitalized in the ICU."

"So maybe we're looking at a spirit that targets families." Jolene suggested, "Or maybe they disturbed a grave or something together."

"That might be it," Sam agreed, "But it doesn't always have to be a spirit. Did you get any pictures of Jackson Mitchell's body?" He asked Dean. His brother wordlessly handed over a handful of pictures that he'd somehow gotten a hold of, and Sam examined them thoughtfully.

"These are huge slash marks," He commented. "Way bigger than a bear. And they look like they came from three claws." Dean nodded in agreement.

"And the best part is, they found his body in his house. His sister was staying for the weekend and discovered him in the kitchen Wednesday morning." He added. Jolene felt Crowley's excitement as he surged forward and seized control of her senses. He used her body to push his way past Dean to get to the pictures, and made a small noise of delight in the back of Jolene's throat when he saw them.

"I know exactly what we're dealing with!" He said gleefully. "Although I thought it's been dead since the Crusades."

 _"You sure seem to know a lot of the demons Lucifer is throwing at us."_ Jolene told him bitterly.

"I know all these monsters because I was once their overlord. A good king keeps his records." Crowley reminded her aloud.

"So what is it?" Sam asked impatiently. He wanted to recoil at the sly grin that Crowley spread onto Jolene's face; but instead stood his ground.

"We're going after the Questing Beast!" Crowley sang in a voice high with excitement. Jolene heard Castiel take a sharp breath, and she saw Sam and Dean's brows furrow in confusion.

"Oh, of course you two don't know." Crowley said condescendingly. "It's a monster from the time of King Arthur that was born out of incest. It wandered in the woods looking for lost travelers, adulterers, people who talked in Mass… you know." He spun his hand to continue his train of thought and smiled smugly at the Winchesters.

"So Mitchell coughed in Mass or something?" Dean asked flatly. "That's the stupidest M.O. I've ever heard." Crowley rolled Jolene's eyes and huffed.

"I doubt someone of his caliber was religious. Think about it- the monster was born out of incest. Obviously it would have a hunger for interfamilial… relationships." He raised his eyebrows, urging the Winchesters to get the point.

"The Mitchells were having a relationship." Sam murmured suddenly.

"Gold star for Moose." Crowley muttered under his breath. "It only took four tries."

"Okay, but what about Julie's sickness?" Dean challenged. "What's that from?" Crowley rolled his shoulders like he was settling in for a good lecture.

"The Questing Beast often gave a sign that it was coming. Its targets would start spewing green blood, and normally their hair would start to fall out. It was meant to be a warning to other people not to commit the same 'sins' as the victims." He said, lacing his hands together professionally. "As a matter of fact, I'll bet that Jackson's body is missing chunks of hair as well; but they chalked it up to the 'bear'."

 _"So how do we kill it?"_ Jolene piped up. She could feel Crowley's dissatisfaction at her interruption; but she didn't care.

"The girl just asked how to dispose of it." Crowley relayed to the others. "It's an animal born of sin and incest, so probably some kind of-"

"It's actually a dragon's bone that you need." A lofty voice interjected. Jolene immediately perked up when she recognized the speaker, and she could sense Castiel's sudden anger and wariness.

"How did you find us so soon?" Sam asked, "We just read that you were coming t-"

"Does it really matter?" Gabriel asked flippantly, "I'm here, and that's all you need." Jolene thought she could sense pain emanating from the new angel, it was a dark, almost sickly shade of green that seemed to float in a coagulated glob.

 _"He's hurt."_ She told Crowley urgently. She tried to launch the same message to Castiel; but couldn't tell if it had reached him. He was focused on Gabriel, who stood with his hands on his hips like nothing was wrong.

"So you're looking at the Questing Beast, blah, blah, blah. You're going to need a bone of the Wawel dragon." He said, sinking into one of the nearby chairs with a groan that belied his obnoxious façade.

"The Wawel dragon," Sam murmured, "But the only evidence of the dragon is the bones hanging above the entrance to the Wawel Cathedral in _Poland_."

"One, you need to lay off the lore. Two, there's no _way_ for us to get that." Dean interjected incredulously. "I thought you were trying to be helpful." Jolene heard a soft _whoosh_ , then felt the bed next to her depress.

"I brought it." Castiel said helpfully, "Although Polish tourists are losing their minds right now." The Winchesters and Gabriel stared at the six foot rib bone that the angel had reappeared with. He'd left so quickly Jolene hadn't even noticed his absence. The silence was broken by Crowley breaking into gales of cold laughter through her mouth.

"You- you're just like a loyal dog, Castiel!" He wheezed, "You even bring your masters bones!"

"If you weren't in Jolene, I'd punch you." Dean threatened. Crowley grinned and rolled Jolene's shoulders again.

"It's a shame I am, isn't it?" He replied teasingly. "Oh, and someone should catch him." He added, nodding his head towards Gabriel, who keeled over in the chair on cue. Sam caught the angel and transferred him to the bed, while Castiel pulled the Wawel Dragon's bone out of the way.

"He's hurt." Jolene blurted, slipping past Crowley long enough to speak her mind. He struggled to maintain control, but Jolene stretched her mind out towards him menacingly and he recoiled.

"Probably from his fight with Lucifer," Sam said. "But I don't see any wounds." He slid his hands lightly over Gabriel's body, and the angel groaned.

"This'd better finish with a happy ending." He muttered. Sam set his jaw and continued to examine him; but couldn't find any physical evidence of the fight. Jolene tentatively touched Gabriel's shoulder, and felt the dull sense of green pain that she'd first noticed when he'd arrived. She focused on it until she found where it was emanating from and pressed her hand to the outside of his thigh.

"It's got to be there." She told Sam with a frown. "Lucifer did something to him."

"How can you tell?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"Crowley being in Jolene's body lends her a certain allocation of his powers." Castiel explained, still holding the heavy dragon's bone like it was a mere suitcase. Sam inspected the area Jolene had specified; but still didn't find anything.

"Cas, do you think you could do something about this?" He asked, "Maybe it's something that you can fix." The angel threw him a doubtful look; but carefully put the bone down and approached his brother. His hands hovered lightly over Gabriel's leg, then glowed with a faint blue light. After a few moments of heavy concentration, he sat back and groaned.

"I can't draw it out." He said, "I'll need a tool." Dean immediately reached for his knife; but Jolene clicked her way to her bag and rummaged around until she found Gabriel's angel shards.

"These can help him, right?" She asked, gingerly depositing the silvery pieces into Castiel's palm. Cas pressed his lips together, then took one of the larger pieces and drew blood from Gabriel's leg. The angel groaned in pain and gripped at the sheets, and Jolene tried to send him positive emotions to dull his pain.

"I don't know what this is," Castiel said, "But I can purify whatever's in his blood. It may take a few hours." Dean snapped to attention at the mention of blood.

"Do you think it's like that black shard you left in Sam?" He asked with a biting edge to his voice. Castiel didn't give him a verbal answer, he just shook his head and turned back to his brother.

. . .

"Apparently he's been cursed."

"Angels can curse each other?"

"Lucifer isn't an angel anymore. And now, he's King of Hell. Who knows what the hell he can do now." Dean intoned, watching Gabriel carefully while the angel slept off whatever had been done to him. Castiel had been able to place wards around him and trace sigils on Gabriel's skin with the angel shards that would purify his vessel from the inside out. But so far it had just been a waiting game.

"Hand me the _Supernatural_ book." Jolene told Castiel. He handed it to her distractedly, and she slowly relinquished control to Crowley so they could pour over the pages together. While she and Crowley read, Sam and Dean set about trying to break the bone of the Wawel dragon into small fragments. They could barely scuff the bone until Castiel gently snapped it in half like a toothpick for them.

"So back on topic. We have to find the Questing Beast and kill it." Sam said, snapping another piece of the bone under his foot and holding it up for inspection. "Any idea how?"

"Oh, you have to wedge one of those bone pieces up under the scales on its breast. Good luck. Did I mention that its bite is poisonous?" Crowley interjected from across the room. He smiled sweetly at the Winchesters, then returned to the book with Jolene.

 _"I was wondering when I'd come in."_ He commented in her head. _"Here's the Roadhouse bit."_

 _"I can read."_ She told him bitterly. _"But I can only go as fast as you move my eyes, so go faster."_ She could feel Crowley condescendingly shrug before turning the next page in the book. They read up until Gabriel's entrance, then Crowley shut Jolene's eyes and sighed.

 _"I think we should wait a bit."_ He said. _"All good things come in moderation."_

 _"Are you kidding me?"_ Jo snapped, _"I want to know what's going to happen to us next. It's good to be prepared!"_ Crowley made a musing sound and pursed his lips.

 _"I don't doubt that you've seen- or heard- your deal of sci-fi TV shows. You know how it goes when people try to pry into the future. My goal is to keep you safe so_ I _stay alive and can jump out of you. If you try to get heroic and die, we_ both _die."_ He told her bitterly. _"So keep that in mind."_ He snapped the book shut and tossed it to the side pointedly. Jolene waited silently until she felt Crowley withdraw and give her back control, and she realized that she could faintly hear the angel shards ringing.

"Cas, do you hear Gabriel's shards ringing?" She asked. She heard the angel shift towards her as she snagged his attention.

"I do, that means he's close to regaining consciousness." He told her. "Are you done with the bones?" He asked the Winchesters.

"Yeah, we have more than enough pieces. Everyone will have at least one, and nobody will be unprotected." Sam said firmly. "We should go visit Julie Mitchell."

"She's still in the ICU," Jolene reminded him.

"Then we'll sneak in." Dean said simply. "We need to figure out where she and her brother did-the-do and brought on the Questing Beast. Then we'll be able to retrace some steps."

"Well, then I'll go." Jolene offered, "They won't suspect my blind ass or anything." She added wryly. There was a small pocket of silence, until Jolene cleared her throat and took initiative.

"I'll take that as a yes." She said. "One of you guys should go with me, and we can call the other two as soon as we get answers."

 _"Oh look, she thinks she can make plans. You're just a bona-fide Hunter now, aren't you? What happened to staying safe and protecting us?"_ Crowley asked icily. Jolene ignored his patronizing and angry tone and diverted her attention to listening for cues that the Winchesters and Castiel agreed with her plan.

. . .

 _"Dr. Drake to the infirmary ward, please. Dr. Drake to the infirmary ward."_ A pleasant voice echoed over the speaker system. The hospital was a bustle of sound to Jolene. The voices of nurses quietly chatting, heart monitors beeping, doctors barking orders, and wheelchairs and beds squeaking filled her ears and gave her a headache. She adamantly refused to let Crowley have control, since he had been so angry with her earlier and because she needed to look as "helpless" and blind as she could. She held onto Sam's sleeve and let him weave her in between busy hospital staff and patients. When they reached the nurse's station, Jolene made sure that she cocked her head at every sound to really sell the farce.

"I'm here to see my aunt, Julie Mitchell." She told the nurse. She could hear the woman flipping through charts and papers before she made a skeptical noise in the back of her throat.

"I'm sorry; but I don't think you're related. Miss Mitchell is a wh-"

"We're not related by blood." Jolene replied flatly. "Can I see her?" The nurse was silent for a second, then regarded Sam and decided to let them by. She pointed them to Julie's room, then went back to sorting her files.

The monitor beeped softly, and it was the first sound Jolene noticed when she entered the room. Julie was awake and attempting to read a magazine, although she looked exhausted and sickly. Her cheeks were sunken, and she'd developed green and purple circles under her eyes. Large swaths of once lush hair were missing from her head. Sam jumped into action before Julie could panic at the sight of her visitors.

"Miss Mitchell, I've heard about what you've gone through; and I'd like to apologize for the loss of your brother." He said smoothly, not moving any closer to the bed or posing any physical threat. Jolene heard the heart monitor pick up slightly, and she could imagine Julie looking wildly at the tall stranger who had entered her room and seemed to know what was going on.

"I know what killed him." Sam continued, "Your… affair together summoned a monster called the Questing Beast. It's already taken him, and it's coming for you next." The heart monitor sped up again, and Julie found her voice.

"How do you know about me and Jack?" She whispered in a rattling voice. "Nobody knows." Sam slowly stepped forward and took a seat beside Julie's bed.

"I hunt monsters. To protect you, I need to know where you and Jack first had sex. Then I can trace the monster's footprints and stop it before it gets to you." He explained calmly. Julie was silent for a moment, and Jolene strained her ears to try and gauge her reaction.

"We… why is this happening? I didn't want him to die! _I_ don't want to die!" She said, her voice growing shriller with every word. "We did it after church, but then we said we'd stop. And we didn't. And someone poisoned him. And me. I don't- I don't want to die. I don't!" Her heart monitor kicked up a fuss, beeping and flashing lights as Julie grew more agitated. She began to thrash on her bed, and a dark green substance began to dribble from the corner of her mouth and one of her nostrils. Jolene couldn't see what was happening, but she could hear the bed creaking and heard Julie spluttering as the foul-smelling liquid trickled down her throat. The door to the room burst open, and two doctors and a slew of nurses pushed past with an array of medical tools between them. They pushed Sam back and rolled Julie onto her side, then set about trying to steady her breathing and drain her lungs.

Sam quietly stepped back and took Jolene's arm. "Let's go." He said, "Before they start asking us questions."

. . .

"Dean, we're looking for a church as the origin point. How many are there in this town?" Jolene relayed into the phone. Sam nodded and guided the two of them through the streets until they made it back to the motel. Gabriel was awake and waiting for them; but they both ignored him in favor of the phone call.

 _"That depends; do you want Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, or what?"_ Dean asked teasingly. _"There's a church on every corner dammit, unless we get a better lead, we're not getting anywhere."_

" _Maybe we can ask a local pastor to direct us to a church the Mitchells may have attended."_ Castiel's voice echoed hopefully in the background.

"That's a good idea, Cas. Split up and start asking around. We'll join you guys in a little bit." Sam called from across the room. Jolene waited for him to finish, then hung up.

"So how was your hospital visit?" Gabriel asked in a slurred voice. Jolene guessed that even though Castiel had healed him, his body was still taking its own sweet time.

"We found out that Julie and Jackson had their first love-making session in a church, hence why Dean and Cas are combing through town to find out which one." Jolene told him. He rolled his eyes.

"They're probably Baptists. Or Mormons. Lucky guesses." He snipped. Jolene shot him a glance.

"Won't it just be easier to guard Julie?" She asked. "If the Questing Beast is coming for her, then let's beat it to its prey. I mean, doesn't that make more sense?"

 _"'Doesn't that make more sense?'"_ Crowley echoed in her head. _"Humans really are simpleminded."_

"We're going back to guard Julie, don't worry." Sam reassured Jolene. "The point is to track the monster from both ends of the rope. We'll be waiting at the end, and Dean and Cas are starting at the beginning. Then we'll catch it in the middle."

"And we'll meet in the middle…" Gabriel sang faintly.

"Be quiet." Sam told him.

"Under that old Georgia pi-ine!" The angel sang more aggressively.

" _Tell him to shut up."_ Crowley pleaded.

Gabriel's second stanza was interrupted by Sam's phone ringing; and he didn't hesitate to pick it up. "Sam's phone, Gabriel speaking." Sam could hear Castiel sigh over the line.

" _Gabriel, put Sam on."_ He ordered. Gabriel tossed the phone to Sam, who put it on speaker for Jolene's convenience.

" _So we found something."_ Cas relayed, _"And it didn't take long."_

"What was it?" Sam asked eagerly. Jo leaned in.

 _"The Mitchells were Episcopalian, and there's only one Episcopalian-oriented church in a twelve mile radius."_ Castiel said. A muffled voice said something, and Cas paused. _"Dean said to tell you that the pastor never noticed any unusual affinities between the Mitchells; but that they were always early to service."_

"That's because they're _Ewhiskopalian_ , right?" Gabriel said sardonically, miming taking a swig from a bottle.

 _"I'll kill him myself. It'd be easy."_ Crowley threatened. _"Everything about him screams poor taste."_

Sam ignored the jibe. "So where do we go from there?" Jolene asked, "We know the Mitchells are guilty, but where's our lead?" There was a short scuffling sound before Dean's voice came onto the phone.

" _Well, interesting thing is- we found a footprint in the belfry of the church."_ He replied. _"Four claw marks."_

"How deep were they?" Sam asked. There was a soft stretch of silence over the phone.

" _About the size of a cat scratch."_ Dean finally said.

"What?" Jolene blurted. "I thought this monster was supposed to be a huge, dragon-looking, bloodsucking… monster!"

 _"I'm not saying it's_ not _a huge monster,"_ Dean interrupted, " _But evidence points to the contrary, Princess."_

"If the Questing Beast really is small then it'll have an easier time getting to Julie Mitchell." Gabriel speculated. "Forget trying to track it down; it's too small. Someone needs to get to the hospital and be on the lookout for anything suspicious- _anything_."

"Dean, Jo and I will go back to the hospital. You and Cas still have your bone pieces, right?" Sam asked.

 _"Yup."_

"Then meet us there."

. . .

A different nurse was manning the station outside Julie Mitchell's room; but she was still reluctant to let the white patient's African-American "niece" in to see her. It took some goading; but Sam was able to talk his way past her.

Julie was in a worse state than before. She had breathing tubes inserted into her nostrils, and intubation pipe in her trachea, and a tube in her stomach. She looked pale and wasted, like she hadn't eaten or seen the sun in weeks.

"Miss Mitchell?" Jolene asked a little loudly. She gently shook the woman's shoulder to rouse her, although it took a few minutes for Julie to gather enough strength to open her eyes.

"You- you're the people from-"

"Earlier. That's right." Jo confirmed. "We're going to watch out for you." She nodded her head towards Sam, who made an impressive figure standing by the door with his arms crossed. Dean and Case found the room a while later, and found Julie sleeping and breathing heavily.

"What are we going to do?" Sam asked. "We can't just stand over her and watch her die. She's already been poisoned; so whether or not we find the Questing Beast, she's still going to waste away."

"Not exactly," Dean said. "Cas and I picked up some old books on the way over, and apparently the Questing Beast always witnesses its victim's death. For some reason, it likes to have its prey in its sight as they die."

"So we wait until she dies to find the monster." Jolene said flatly. "Great. But isn't there some way we can save her?" Her mind jumped to their encounter with the Midnight Man and the little girl they'd had to leave behind. The fresh sting of failure made her determined to help the Winchesters find some way to save the frail woman lying before them. Dean closed his eyes slowly.

"We didn't find anything." He said tightly. He went to add the words "I'm sorry" to his sentence, but Jolene didn't want to hear them. He didn't owe her an apology. Not just her. He owed one to himself, his brother, and Julie. It wasn't his fault; he just hadn't found the correct information in time.

 _"If you'd like, I could give you some advice."_ Crowley piped up.

"What do you want?" Jolene snapped aloud without realizing it. She could feel a mischievous energy coming from Crowley, and she didn't like it.

 _"We have two options."_

"Then let's hear it." The Winchesters stared at her imploringly, but she ignored them. Castiel watched silently.

 _"We can use our energy to heal her-"_

"Then let's do that!"

" _If you'll hold on,"_ Crowley said irately, _"You'll realize that draining that much power out of us will kill one of us. Probably you. And that would leave me in possession of your body, but very weak. Essentially, you would burn out and I'd be left piloting a vegetable of a body with nigh impossible chances of jumping out."_ Jolene was silent. She desperately wanted to save Julie, despite the atrocity of her mistake; but the cost of her own life was heavy. She felt guilty. She knew either one of the Winchesters would throw down their lives for anyone and probably wouldn't hesitate to burn themselves out. Crowley was smug.

 _"You didn't think about that, did you?"_ He asked.

"What's the other option?" Jolene asked him quietly.

 _"We can catch the Questing Beast. If the victim ingests some of its blood before the poison shuts their body down, the antibodies in the monster's blood immediately counteract the poison."_ Crowley explained fluidly.

"I like that idea better." Jo murmured, still not relaying her conversation to Dean and Sam.

 _"But like everything, there are risks."_ Crowley added. Jolene swore under her breath, and Dean gave up on trying to grab her attention. _"If any of you get bitten by the Questing Beast- you and Castiel included- death will be swift. Just so you know. Like I said, we don't have enough energy to burn the venom out of more than one person anyway. So- to be frank and use a clever play on words- pick your poison."_ Jolene silently contemplated her options, weighing them against each other. Her thoughts were broken by Julie's heart monitor shrieking and bursting with loud, rapid beeps. Sam and Dean jumped up and ran to hold her down as her body started convulsing.

"We need a plan, Jo!" Sam barked, "Now!"

"We need to find the Questing Beast." Jolene said quickly. "It's blood will counter the poison. Don't get bitten, though!" She quickly gave her body over to Crowley, who roamed the room with keen eyes. Footsteps echoed down the hall leading to the room, but Castiel calmly bent the metal frame of the door into a twisted shape that forbade access.

"Dean, hold Julie on her side!" Sam shouted. "Cas, help me find this thing!" He ducked under the bed, sweeping his hand under the metal hinges and colored cords below. Castiel deftly moved through the room, listening to the walls and checking in the furniture and closets. Crowley's eyes rolled towards the ceiling, where he eyed the metal ventilation grate feeding cool air into the room.

"Moose, give me a leg up." He demanded. Sam boosted the demon into the air, and Crowley effortlessly tore the cover off of the vent. There, cowering and hissing in the metal shaft, was a small scaled creature with two bulbous eyes and a forked tongue. It wasn't the size of a cat, in fact, it was more the size of a tape dispenser or a small calculator.

 _"Get it!"_ Jolene urged loudly.

"Got you." Crowley hissed, pulling Jolene's hand into her sleeve and making a grab for the small creature. It dodged and snarled at him, both of its enormous eyes spinning wildly in their sockets.

"Sam, hurry!" Dean shouted. He had pulled Julie off of her bed and into his arms. She was seizing, and her eyes had rolled back into her head. One of her ears leaked blood, and white foam was starting to drip from the side of her mouth. Crowley pursed his lips and made a grab for the Questing Beast again, and this time he was successful. He wrapped the sleeve around the monster and pulled his hand from the vent; but cursed and hurled the creature to the floor when a sharp pain hit his hand.

"Cas, grab it!" Sam shouted, lowering Crowley back down. Castiel quickly pinned the monster under his shoe, but the little thing wiggled loose, leaving only a squirming tail and a trail of purple blood as the rest of the body skittered away.

"That'll work, hurry!" Sam grabbed the tail and passed it to Dean, who all but shoved the torn extremity into Julie's mouth. The purple blood leaked down her throat, and almost immediately she went still. Her breathing evened out, and her eyes opened.

"I-"Her lip quivered, still layered with froth from her seizure.

"You're alright," Dean reassured her, helping her to her feet. "You're safe."

"Ah, shit." Crowley said before toppling to the floor with a thud. Castiel was the first to his side, and he saw the small semicircle of teeth marks on Jolene's left hand.

"They've been poisoned." He called urgently. "Find the Questing Beast again!" Jolene's body drew itself into the fetal position as all of her muscles tensed at once. Inside her head, she and Crowley were ricocheting around like ping pong balls. Neither of them could form a coherent thought around the blazing pain that was beating both of them down.

Dean leapt off of the bed and joined his brother and Cas in the search for the animal. They looked everywhere, but couldn't find it. Suddenly, Julie's shriek drew their attention.

"Is that a spider?" She asked in a watery voice, pointing at the far wall. The Winchesters saw a small green creature, no bigger than a house spider, scurrying up the wall towards the vents. Sam grabbed a vase of flowers on Julie's bedside table and dumped its contents on the floor. He slammed the vase on top of the creature and trapped it inside.

"Now what?" He asked desperately. "There's not enough blood in its body to save them, it's too small!"

"No, look." Castiel said with wide eyes. Sam turned to see the Questing Beast growing before his eyes. It swelled like a balloon filling with water, until it was almost as big as the vase. Sam stumbled backwards and the vase and monster fell to the floor. The creature wiggled among the sparkling shards of glass and continued to grow bigger. It had gotten to the size of a dog when Dean regained his wits and tossed rock salt on it. The monster temporarily stopped growing and instead turned its wild eyes on the Winchesters. It growled gutturally at them, and one eye wobbled to focus on Jolene's body as it writhed on the floor.

"Shotgun." Dean said.

The Questing Beast exploded into purple and green chunks of flesh as a salt bullet tore through its swelling body. Dean tossed the sawed off shotgun to the side, it had served its purpose while the monster was distracted by Jolene.

"Grab the biggest piece of meat you can find!" Dean shouted as Cas gently rolled Jo onto her side. Sam tossed his brother a ragged chunk of the monster, and Dean slowly wrung the flesh between his hands like a towel. The purple blood cascaded into Jolene's mouth, and Castiel lifted her head to try and guide it down her throat. At once, she bolted upright, coughing and spraying spittle and purple blood all over her companions. Dean sat back on his heels, and Sam ran a hand through his hair, leaving a purple smear on his forehead.

 _"Crowley?"_ Jolene asked shakily. _"Are you okay?"_ It took a minute, and for a second she was worried that the poison had gotten to him.

 _"I'm fine."_ The demon said bitterly. _"I just made a mistake."_ Jolene could feel him skulking in the recesses of her mind and decided to leave him alone. The pounding on the door had become increasingly violent, and something heavy was trying to break it down.

"You're safe now." Castiel told Julie, "Make a full recovery." He helped Jolene to her feet, then effortlessly jumped through the window and onto the sidewalk outside. Dean and Sam quickly bid Julie farewell and followed.

When the hospital security guards and frantic doctors rushed in, they didn't know what to think. Their previously comatose patient sat with her knees drawn to her chest, covered in what looked like purple dye, while pieces of scales and meat littered the floor. They couldn't get an answer out of her regarding her intruders and strange niece, and she had no intention of telling them anyway.

 **A.N.- I pictured the Questing Beast as Envy's true form in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. A pale, slimy little thing that can grow or shrink at its own whim.**

 **Stay tuned.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A.N.- So I'm not dead. Whoo-hoo. But someone's gonna be.**

Wayward, Ch. 10

Jolene's head was pounding. She wasn't sure what poison the Questing Beast had injected her with; but she was feeling the aftereffects. Crowley was still silent, and Jo left him that way. She sat in the back of the Impala with her head resting on Castiel's shoulder. Every few miles, Sam or Dean would turn around in their seats to check on them, and Castiel would give them a reassuring look.

Gabriel, on the other hand, sat against the other side of the back seat and snored. He was obviously recovering well from whatever Lucifer had done. They'd made it halfway through Idaho when Sam checked his phone and frowned.

"Demonic possession in Bozeman, Montana. We can take a one day detour and-"

"Sammy, do you see that sky?" Dean pointed through the windshield at the shy, which had been constantly boiling with dark and angry clouds for the last few days.

"It's because we're nearing Lucifer." Castiel observed, "He must be bringing more monsters."

"And we have no army." Jolene murmured against his shoulder. Dean made a dissatisfactory noise and jerked the wheel. Gabriel fell against Jolene and Cas as the Impala fishtailed in the middle of the empty highway and peeled off to head East. "We'll have to see what we can find." He growled.

"Let's make this quick," Gabriel groaned. "I want to get it over with."

. . .

"Alright, what's the briefing Sammy?" Dean asked, gently putting the Impala into park in the parking lot of a gas station.

"Just a normal haunted house. It's right down the street. Nothing too big, we can get this done and be back on the road by tomorrow night." Sam said, scrolling through the text on his phone.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Dean said, kicking the door open and heading to the trunk for weapons. Castiel climbed out of the car and Jolene rolled out after him.

"What's the plan, though? Are we going in as FBI, exterminators, relatives… what?" Jolene pressed.

"We're going in as soon as the sun goes down." Dean said, "Then we're going to gank whatever's in that house and get back on the road."

"Wow, breaking and entering sounds good." Sam commented sarcastically. Dean looked up from the salt shells he was loading into the shotgun.

"You got a better idea?" He retorted. "We need to get back on the road; but I agree we can't just drive by and ignore someone who needs us. And it's not like we've seen any other Hunters out here anyway."

"Still breaking and entering." Gabriel grumbled.

"You know what? For that comment, you don't get a gun." Dean snapped. "Have fun throwing shards at the demon." Gabriel made an obscene gesture, and Castiel grimaced at his brother's lewdness.

. . .

"Dean, this may be bigger than one demon." Sam said, "Look." He leaned over to show his brother the EMF reader, and Jolene could hear it ticking and squeaking at a high frequency.

"Well shit. We don't have time to rethink this." Dean said. "We've got all four of us, and we're all armed; so as long as we're careful we'll be fine." Jo almost thought about mentioning Crowley to bring the body count to five, but she realized that she hadn't heard from him in hours.

 _"Crowley?"_ She asked gently. She felt him there, sulking; but no amount of prodding could get a response. She sighed and strained her ears to try and gather her surroundings. Dean wedged open a window in the rear of the house and climbed through first, then Sam boosted Jolene through (after ignoring Gabriel's offer) and was followed by Cas and the other angel.

"Let's split up," Sam whispered, "And remember that there are still people here and this is more than one entity here."

"Because splitting up isn't how all bad things happen." Gabriel griped. Jolene stepped purposefully on his heel, and he hissed profanities at her under his breath. Jolene threaded her finger through one of the belt loops on Castiel's trench coat and let him lead her around, clicking only when the angel forgot to turn a corner widely and accidentally bumped her into things. Eventually she let go of him and followed the sound of his footsteps. She could hear that Sam and Gabriel had wandered to another part of the house, and Dean's footsteps had vanished almost instantly.

Jolene heard something creak above her and stopped cold. She quietly zoned in on the sound, but realized that it was only the house settling or one of the others moving around upstairs. Jo took a second to compose herself and slow her breathing, and once she could hear over the pounding in her ears, she started moving forward again. After a few seconds of groping ahead of her, Jolene realized that she was alone.

"Cas." She whispered, "Cas, I lost you."

A hand closed on her upper arm and Jolene jerked away. She immediately slid her feet apart and brought her hands to her sides to stabilize and defend herself.

"Hey, sorry." Someone whispered, she recognized Dean's voice and relaxed. "You're tense." He observed.

"Well, having someone grab you when you can't see it coming is startling. Especially when I can't hear someone reaching over." Jolene explained. Dean made the soft exhaling sound that he did when he smiled. Jo actually enjoyed the sound, he hadn't smiled in a while.

"So you wouldn't feel it if Sam or I just-"He snapped both of his hands onto her shoulders, but Jolene was smug she didn't do more than flinch.

"I was expecting it this time." She told him. Dean made a disappointed sound and she smiled.

"Nice try, Dean. Maybe next time; but try not to make it a game or habit." Jolene said seriously, making sure he understood before turning to another subject.

"Do you have the EMF reader?" She asked. Dean shook his head.

"I gave it to Sammy," He said. Jolene rolled her eyes towards the ceiling.

"Don't you think Gabriel would be able to sense a demon without the EMF machine, though?" She asked. Dean was silent only for a moment.

"Shit."

"Yeah."

"Well… you've got Crowley, right?" Dean asked. Jolene pursed her lips.

"He's not speaking to me. I think he's embarrassed that he let us get bit by the Questing Beast in Wyoming." She theorized. Dean snorted.

"He does have one hell of an ego. How are you feeling after that, anyway? We probably should've checked before bringing you in here." He asked gently.

"I'm alright, it's just a minor headache." Jo reassured him. "Thanks for your concern, though." She pressed forward a few more steps before turning and almost bumping into Dean directly behind her. "By the way, Dean: I think Cas would-"An unholy roar rattled the foundations of the house, making both of them jump.

"Are you kidding!" Dean snapped, hoisting the shotgun to his shoulder. "Jo, follow me!" He snatched Jolene's wrist and dragged her after him. She could hear Sam's shotgun firing upstairs and pulled away from Dean, frantically clicking until she found a stairway with a thick bannister and carpeted steps.

"Sam!" She shouted. She heard a whoosh behind her as Castiel appeared on the steps and zoomed past her in a blur. Jo could hear Dean shouting behind her and feel his footsteps thud up the stairs. Another roar shook the house, and Jo heard small voices screaming.

"Mommy!"

"Mom, help!"

When she reached the top of the stairs, Jolene immediately turned to the right as Sam's shotgun echoed another shot from the left.

"Jo what are you doing?" Dean shouted, "They're this way!" He stumbled for a second as the house shook underneath his feet.

"There are kids over here!" She screamed back. Dean hesitated for a moment, then took off after her.

"Cas, protect Sam!" He shouted into thin air, shoving shells into the gun as he ran down the hall. Jo kept running, straining for the young voices as the house rumbled again. The floor moved again, but not like it had before. It was like someone had cracked a whip at the end of the hallway, and the entire floor undulated with the shockwave. It was more than enough to knock Jo off her feet, but she didn't stay down long. She sprang back onto her feet and could hear Dean trying to right himself on the floor behind her.

"Mom! What's happening?" Jolene didn't hesitate to kick at the door blocking her from the voices. It crumpled under her heel, and she rushed forward only to be greeted by screams. A boy and girl, one twelve, one eight, sat huddled on a bed as the ceiling shook and plaster rained down on them. Jo turned to them and did her best to make her eyes look focused and less unnerving.

"It's okay, guys; it's okay!" She shouted, trying to sound as reassuring as she could. "We're going to get you guys out of here, okay? I need you to follow me." The boy willingly hopped off the bed; but his younger sister pulled farther away from Jolene's outstretched hand.

"What about my mommy?" She cried, "Don't want to go without her!"

"Hun, your mommy will be outside," Jo reassured her. "She's already out, so I need you to come with me so you can see her." Jolene couldn't see; but the little girl's silent whimpering proved that she wasn't going anywhere. Jo sighed heavily. "Okay, honey, c'mere." She lunged forward and scooped the little girl into her arms. She was by no means light, and she did _not_ like to be held. She punched and kicked and scratched like a feral cat, but Jolene spun on her heel and half-hustled-half-dragged her to the door. Jolene was about to cross the threshold with the little boy on her heels when the door slammed shut in her face and a force threw her back against the wall. Jo hugged the little girl to her chest and took the brunt of the hit with her back. She lay there for a moment, stunned, while the girl wriggled out of her arms and ran to her brother. The house tilted suddenly, like it'd been flipped on its side; but the change was only temporary. The rooms immediately flipped back to normal, and the siblings slid against the wall on the far side of the room while Jolene rolled across the floor.

"Jo!" She could hear Dean on the other side of the door, banging on it and cursing like a sailor. It sounded like he was either kicking the door or firing his shotgun at it, she couldn't tell. Her head was pounding too hard to think straight, and she could taste blood running into her mouth. One of the kids screamed again, and Jolene did her best to rouse herself. She was able to get onto her hands and knees before the same force slammed her from behind and pinned her to the floor. The children were shrieking, and Dean was snarling at the door, and she could hear Gabriel and Castiel's angel shards ringing over the sound of Sam's shotgun and the house groaning. Jolene spat the blood out of her mouth and strained against whatever was holding her down.

" _Retro Satana._ " She gasped, feeling the pressure release only a little. She repeated the phrase again, and again, until she was screaming Latin at the top of her lungs and could move. Jo jumped to her feet and grabbed the girl again, still muttering protective wards. She grabbed the boy by his collar and dragged him with her to the door.

 _"Apertus!"_ Jo shrieked. The door flew open, almost hitting Dean. She quickly transferred the wailing little girl to Dean's arms and took off down the hallway. "Get them outside!" She ordered over her shoulder. Dean's cursing followed her down the hall, but she ignored it. Jo listened for the ring of the angel shards, and swung into the room with the loudest sound. As soon as she entered, she was almost knocked to the ground again by the furniture and books flying around the room.

"Jolene, retreat!" Castiel ordered, trying to shove her back into the hallway with his powers. Jolene instead dodged him and crept forward. A woman was suspended in the middle of the room, with her hair whipping around her face and her arms outstretched. Her mouth gaped open in an eternal howl; but no sound came from between her lips.

Sam and Gabriel stood on either side of her, trying to edge closer through the maelstrom of furniture and knickknacks hurtling through the air. Gabriel effortlessly waived the items aside, but Sam had to bat them away with the stock of his rifle.

 _"Retro Satana!"_ Jolene shouted. The words were ripped from her mouth by the wind as soon as she said them; but she repeated the phrase over and over until the whirlwind slowed. The mother slowly descended, and all the books and furniture dropped to the floor. Cas had to jerk Jolene out of the path of a falling sofa as the mother smirked.

"So nice to have you all in one place." She said in a gravelly voice, "But where's the short one with daddy issues?"

"Oh, hey Lucifer." Gabriel said flatly. Jolene felt Castiel's grip on her shoulder intensify, and Sam instinctively took a step back.

"We would have known if you were here." Cas denied, "I felt nothing when we drove through this area before." The mother smiled and spread her perfectly manicured hands.

"Well _surprise_ , bro. I had a minor demon inhabiting this house, but when you idiots decided to turn around and play the hero, I decided to step in and greet you myself." Lucifer said. Jolene couldn't see him, but she could almost picture the sickly sweet smirk on his face. In the back of her mind, she felt Crowley stir. Lucifer cocked his head.

"Crowley, why'd you pick a blind girl?" He chuckled, "You must not have had much to choose from." Jolene opened her mouth to angrily retort; but Crowley took control from her.

"How dare you speak to me, you worm," He snarled. "I can't imagine the amount of arse kissing and ball fondling you had to do in order to crawl your way out of your perfect little prison; but let me tell you this-"Crowley shook off Castiel's hand and stormed forward until Jolene's nose almost touched the mother's. "-Hell is rightfully mine, and I'll damn well kill you or anyone who gets in my way." Lucifer paused for a second, then started howling with laughter.

"You're so cute, Crowley; but I just can't take you seriously with a vessel like that. You don't even have full control over it, how could you possibly rule Hell?" He tweaked Jolene's nose arrogantly, and she could feel Crowley seething with venomous rage.

" _I_ was Lilith's right hand man, and Hell automatically goes to me!" He roared.

"Just because it's yours by right doesn't mean you know how to use it." Lucifer said condescendingly. Crowley raised Jolene's fist to throw a punch; but Castiel caught him by the arm and jerked him backwards. Jolene made a note to thank him.

"Thank you, Cas. I wouldn't have wanted to accidentally break him." Lucifer sniveled. He turned quickly and shoved Gabriel backwards, throwing the angel shards from his hands and thwarting the silent attack his brother was trying to mount.

"Now really, Gabe. Behind the back?" Lucifer scolded, grabbing Sam's shotgun, whacking him in the chest with it, and bending the barrel into a pretzel. Gabriel came at him again, but Lucifer got him by the neck and threw him straight downwards through the floor. Crowley was so shocked that he accidentally let go of the controls, giving a direct route to Jolene's mouth.

"Gabriel!" She screamed. Lucifer grinned at the shocked look on Sam's face, then leapt down to the lower level. Only to be blown back by a salt round to the chest.

"Surprise, bitch." Dean quipped. Lucifer stumbled for a second, then grinned and shook the salt out of his hair. He lifted his hand quickly and tossed Dean up through the ceiling, the opposite of what he'd done to Gabriel.

"Dean!" Sam and Cas shouted in unison. When Lucifer turned back around, Gabriel was ready to face him. He brandished his repaired angel blade between them. Lucifer scoffed.

"Gabe, I don't want to hurt you. But if I did, that little scrap can't help you." He taunted. Jolene knelt at the edge of the hole in the floor, Crowley was so angry that he couldn't regain proper control. All she could see were blips of vision and color. She could see Lucifer approaching Gabriel slowly; but couldn't find enough power between her and Crowley to speak. Cas had left her side to tend to Dean, and Sam was crouched over his brother's unconscious body.

"I let you go after that scene in Vermont," Lucifer warned, "But for some reason you want to keep trying my patience and mercy, and I'll tell you, Gabe- I'm not the angel of mercy."

"Oh I know." Gabriel agreed. "The issue is, you've appointed yourself as the angel of death. And last time I thought about it, that's not your gig, bro." Lucifer shrugged.

"So why not agree to disagree? You can go your own way, and I'll kill the Winchesters and Crowley once and for all. If you even take our baby brother with us, I'll spare him, too." He suggested. Gabriel spun the blade in his hands experimentally.

"Yeah… normally I'd be all for that. Except you want to destroy the world and all of that good shit, blah, blah, blah. Basically, if you have your way with the world- pun intended- I won't have any more hangouts. No bars, no whorehouses, and no Winchesters to mess with." He said. "Not to mention the fact that there are two little kids out there crying on their lawn because you're tearing up their house and possessing their mother. On a scale of one to ten, this is a stage eleven party foul, bro." Lucifer's smile faded into a grimace.

"You've got to be kidding me. You're feeling sorry for _humans_? Maybe I should just kill them first to remove all your distractions." He smiled at the ceiling, "Then I'll move onto the Winchesters." Gabriel chuckled.

"That's cute, bro; but I don't think so." He waved his hand and smirked as a filmy bubble expanded over him and his brother. Lucifer tried to attack the barrier, but it threw him back. "You're not getting to those kids or the Winchesters." Gabriel said solemnly, "Not without going through me." Crowley still hadn't composed himself enough to regulate control; and the flickering vision was starting to make Jolene sick. She could see some kind of barrier erecting itself around the two angels; but she couldn't hear what they were saying. Sirens were wailing in the distance, and Sam and Cas were still trying to shake Dean back to consciousness. He bolted upright, and Cas helped him to his feet. They all gathered around the side of the hole, and Castiel tried to pound his way through the barrier. Gabriel looked up and smiled sadly at his brother, then turned back to Lucifer.

"And then Dad brought the new baby home and you couldn't help but get jealous. Jelly Luci, remember that? What a great name." Gabriel taunted. "The Winchesters will do some good in the world- more than you or I, that's for sure. I actually think they have a fighting-" Jolene heard the sword as it slid into Gabriel's gut. She could hear the soft and strangled "oh" that left his mouth as he looked down for his blade and saw it in Lucifer's hands.

"This was avoidable," Lucifer whispered. "I told you before, but you chose the wrong side." He jerked the sword out of Gabriel sharply and flicked it to shake off the dark red blood clinging to the tip. His brother staggered backwards with his hand wrapped over the wound. It didn't bleed too heavily, but the damage was evident. Gabriel didn't even have time to make a remark or a witty retort before he dissolved into a pile of pale blue dust without another sound. The silvery barrier around them dissipated.

"Gabriel," Jolene whispered. "He killed Gabriel." Sam held a finger to his lips, not bothering to hide his horrified expression, then put a cautionary hand on her shoulder when he remembered she couldn't see him. Dean clenched his hands and tensed his muscles, ready to drop through the hole and grab Lucifer by the throat. The fallen angel scuffed his shoe through Gabriel's ashes, scattering them in blue puffs.

"As you were, Winchesters." He said to the empty room. "I'll see you soon." Lucifer turned and left, twirling the rust-tinted sword and whistling merrily. Jolene stayed frozen with Sam's hand still on her shoulder.

"Are we going after him?" She whispered.

"What do you think?" Dean asked, he stood up and beckoned for Jolene and Sam to follow. Sam led Jolene down the stairs and through the door only to stop short and gag. Jolene's senses were automatically overpowered with the sour smell of vomit and the rich coppery smell of blood mixed with the night air.

"No." Dean whispered, "No, no, no, no." Sam only made it a few steps before he vomited; but Dean took about five. Jolene stood rigidly beside Castiel as he sadly looked at the bloody carnage on the front lawn. Tufts and locks of hair were scattered throughout the grass, with bone fragments littering the driveway and curb. Jo reached out and blindly grabbed for Castiel's sleeve.

"Please don't tell me…"

" _It's the children."_ Crowley intoned bitterly, _"What did you expect?"_

"Oh my God." Jo whispered, "Lucifer…"

" _Like I said: what did you expect."_

 **A.N.- There we go. First update for a while. I will say that I feel accomplished: two jobs and college and I'm not 18 yet. I've got life by the balls…. And it has me by the hair.**


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